


Heart of Etheria

by mimdecisive



Series: maralight collection [4]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Developing Friendships, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Grandmas Love Mara, Hiatus, Minor Entrapta/Darla | Mara’s ship (She-Ra), Minor Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra), Non-binary character, Rebooted Characters, Slow Burn, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:34:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 26,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27359623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mimdecisive/pseuds/mimdecisive
Summary: The Friends of Mara are almost entirely lost to history with the rest of the First Ones, but their rebellion never went unnoticed.But how, exactly, did these saviours of Eternia end up as a rebellion in the first place? And how did Mara become the She-Ra of Etheria? And who were the enemies the First Ones were trying to stop?Or: Mara’s journey as She-Ra, her friendships, her love and her happy ending. It’s what she deserves.Rewrite of “wake me now from these clouds” and a prequel to the 2018 reboot that eventually catches up where canon left off. Ships involving the main SPOP cast won’t be appearing until later on.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Ely & Mara (She-Ra), Ely & Serenia (She-Ra), Enchanta & Mara (She-Ra), Light Hope/Mara (She-Ra), Mara & Razz (She-Ra), Mara & Serenia (She-Ra)
Series: maralight collection [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764724
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. In the Whispering Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mara lands on Etheria— and unbeknownst to her, her story begins.

“Arriving on Etheria in two hours,” the voice of the ship rang out. If you told Mara a year ago that she’d be on her way to another planet for a classified project, she’d have some questions.

She _was_ surprised she was asked to take up the mantle of She-Ra, a project she hadn’t known all the details of.

Dr. Zoog’s pet project personally, and all of his other projects had worked out before. Even if they don’t share the details with most people, classified and all.

She knew, better than most people, that Horde Prime was gaining on them at alarming speeds, but she only knew _that_ because of her rank. (Though not the highest, not bad.)

Etheria’s magic is the only thing that can protect them from Prime, they said. That studying Etheria’s magic is the only way to protect their planet. 

She isn’t sure why they need all _this_ for a research project, but it’s not like she expected Zoog to tell her anything. Even if she _is_ She-Ra now.

To be honest, the She-Ra part is what gets her. Why was _she_ chosen by her people, out of everyone, to protect Etheria? Why is _she_ the one in a Squadron named after the king?

There’s no time for her questions, so she doesn’t ask. She was chosen by her people, and that’s all that matters. She won’t fail them. 

  
  
  


Etheria has always felt like a myth, when Mara was growing up. There was always whispers of far, distant planets full of _magic._ Krytis, Primus, Trolla and Etheria.

Eternia had magic, but their magic always felt very controlled, very subtle. 

Sorcerers could tap into the magic, but unless they were the Sorceress of Grayskull Castle, like the king’s wife, they weren’t any match for what lies in the dark. (Or, the light.)

Mara didn’t remember her parents, didn’t have any family she remembered, but she was always told they were warriors. Sometimes, she wonders if that’s why ultimately led her to pursue the same feat.

Nonetheless, she enrolled in the after-school training programs they provided and worked hard. She learned how to maintain spaceships, how to fight and strategy.

By the time she was an adult, she even managed a job working in the capital! It was one of her proudest accomplishments. The old woman who lived next door to her naked her some celebratory muffins, she remembered.

It seemed like so long ago now, she reminisced, watching the stars pass. She put the ship on autopilot so she could take a break. Etheria was _far_ away from Eternia, and for some reason she was the one with her own ship.

Mara didn’t quite understand that— why wasn’t she with any of her colleagues? She-Ra is important to this project and all, but is she really prohibited from some company?

Incidentally so. They hadn’t allowed her to meet anyone else on this project, aside from her superiors. And, well, Light Hope.

Light Hope and her had only had a few short interactions. Her computer wasn’t properly set up, so she was constantly glitching, running slowly and trying to converse power.

She checked up on Mara every hour or so, and sometimes Mara wondered if Light Hope was meant to babysit her. 

Mara sighed, and decided to cook— not that any of her rations qualified as something you ‘cook’, in her opinion.

The names weren’t appetizing in any means, but this food wasn’t about _appetizing_ so much as it was about the protein and vitamins and other stuff. 

(She hoped Etheria had real food.)

Throwing on her misspelled apron, a keepsake from home, she got to work. She had two hours to waste.

“Mara,” Light Hope greeted, checking up on her as per usual.

“Hey, Light Hope,” Mara replied, rolling out the dough. She turned around to glance at Light Hope, giving her a friendly smile.

“Your apron is misspelled. I have no records of the word ‘smech’, and certain not in that context.”

Mara couldn’t help it, she started laughing. She dropped her rolling pin, though that honestly only seemed to make her laugh more. Her chest hurt.

“I can’t breathe,” Mara managed to say.

“You are experiencing dyspnea? According to protocol, the proper response is to keep you monitored until your poor ventilation recovers. If it does not, I will alert your squadron.”

“That’s not necessary, Light Hope,” Mara said, “I’m fine.”

“You should remove any articles of clothing that may be constricting your airways,” Light Hope suggested.

“I’m fine, it’s just funny, you know?” Mara smiled, “I know it’s misspelled. It’s uh, just a joke. I thought it was funny. Although, I think you saying it made it funnier.”

Light Hope blinked, “Your subsistence is producing flames.”

“Oh!”

  
  
  
  
  


The dark space and stars gradually faded into a light blue of Etheria’s sky, gentle fluffy clouds scattered across the horizon. 

Her ship landed smoothly on Etheria’s surface, parked right next to all the other ships. She supposed this is the part where she actually _meets_ her squadron.

(Selecting Eternia’s best for a rushed project, incidentally, doesn’t guarantee they know each other.)

Mara stretched, put her sword on her back and exited her ship. Everyone else was already back to work, unloading parts and such.

The moment she stepped foot on the planet, she felt a strange feeling. It felt… right. Calming. Maybe she wasn’t meant to be on a spaceship.

“Hey, Mara, right?”

Mara turned her head— standing next to her was a short woman with a long, wavy ponytail in pastel colours. She looked a little more put together than Mara felt. (It’s hard to feel ready for something they won’t tell you about.)

“Oh, hi— Yes, I’m Mara,” She said.

“Serenia. Now that we have introductions out of the way… What’s it like being the _mysterious_ She-Ra?”

“Maybe you’re a descendant of He-Ro?” Someone else chimed in, “Or royalty— I heard a rumour all legendary heroes start out as royalty!” 

“A magic sorceress?”

“No, not really,” Mara chuckles, “I’m probably just the same as any of you. I’m really just an average soldier.” 

“Really?” Serenia frowned, “For some reason, I found myself hoping for nepotism. Well, guess we better all get introduced. That’s Ely, Team A’s sorcerer, tech master and top researcher.”

“Sorcerer apprentice,” They corrected shyly, “I won’t be doing any actual magic.”

“I’m project manager— I’ll be managing Team A’s operations to make sure we get things done smoothly and on-time,” Serenia said, “And you’ll— as She-Ra, of course, be picking out the locations related the most to She-Ra and our A.I.”

“A.I? Oh, Light Hope,” Mara said, “Like the Crystal Castle, right? Dr. Zoog mentioned that.”

“Exactly,” Serenia grinned, and swung an arm around Ely, “We’ll be tackling things a few buildings at a time for maximum effort. Team B’s going to set up communication, and we’ll set up the castle.”

“S… So, where should we start exploring? The opportune location for the Crystal Castle would likely be somewhere secluded, like a forest or the mountains. We don’t want any Etherians stumbling upon it by accident and setting off the security measures,” Ely said.

“There’s a forest not far from here, according to the map,” Serenia said, staring at a tracking pad, “But it looks... unstable. My map can’t decipher it.”

“Huh,” Ely said, “The planet’s natural magic could be stronger there, resulting in a failed signal, or shifting landscape, or a number of other explanations.”

“So, should we check it out?” Mara asked, “Find out which one it is?”

“Might be risky,” Serenia said, “Let’s do it!”

“It _would_ be a good research opportunity,” Ely added, “We’d get to note some of Etheria’s plants, and maybe even fauna.”

“And a secluded or shifting landscape could possibly discourage visitors,” Mara said, “Either way, we’ll get to see something other than a spaceship.”

“Yeah,” Serenia signed, “I was starting to go stir crazy in there. Is this your first off-planet mission?”

“It’s my first mission this far away and this classified,” Mara said, “I only really visited Eternian colonies— Dactis, once, with General Ruth, but that project wasn’t as long. They won’t even tell me all the details about this one.”

“Same here, sorta,” Serenia said, “I was kicked off a classified mission— not as bad as this one, I mean. I just… I may have told my little sister something, and she may have told the rest of the class, and Zoog may have been furious.”

“I haven’t been on any classified missions,” Ely added, softly, “I’m Candor’s apprentice. I guess they needed an extra person to handle the tech and research.”

“Hey, if anyone’s extra, it’s Chad,” Serenia said, “You’re necessary.” 

“We’ll learn together, I guess,” Mara smiled, “Let’s go check out that forest.”

  
  
  


“What do you think is so classified about the Heart of Etheria project?” Mara asked, among branches. The forest was thick, and easy to get lost in.

There was magic here— she wasn’t sure how she knew, exactly.

Maybe it was the whispers on the wind, uneasy if you didn’t tune it out. Or the complicated landscape that seemed to shift to keep them out.

Serenia shrugged, “I don’t know— but as a general, I don’t like not knowing things.”

Ely scratched a note on a pad of paper, observing some Etherian fireflies, “It does seem strange for them to deny us information for a research project. If I didn’t know better, I’d say they were hiding something. But they’re not.”

“And how can you be so sure?” Serenia asked. 

“Because Candor would’ve told me,” Ely said.

“Uh-huh. Ely, I know you’re his apprentice, but that man is a vault. Probably. Dr. Zoog and him get along too well for him to go blabbing off to his apprentices.”

Ely frowned, “He knows he can trust me. I… I mean, he practically raised me.”

“ _Candor_ raised you?” Mara asked.

“ _Practically_ raised. It’s more of uh… I don’t know, classic orphan apprenticeship? He’s known me for most of my life. He knows I wouldn’t betray him.”

“Okay, okay,” Serenia said, “I’ll drop it.”

Mara placed a hand on Ely’s shoulder, “I’m sure you’re right. Maybe the details are just really boring, for all we know.”

“Y… Yeah! Boring,” Ely smiled, and turned their attention to the plant in front of them, “Look at this plant! The texture of the leaves indicate it evolved in a wet climate. It must rain a lot here.”

“Speaking of boring,” Serenia joked.

“Hey! It isn’t boring— it’s fascinating. Who knows what wonderful properties this plant could have?” They furiously scratched notes with their pencil.

“There’s a lot of vines in this forest,” Mara commented, “And these mushrooms are really unique— almost glowing. The magic of this planet must run deeper than we thought— it’s not just on a surface level.”

Ely’s pencil worked faster, taking precise notes in neat writing.

“Look, over here,” Mara interrupted, moving some branches out of the way to reveal a large clearing. It was almost completely secluded— and there weren't any animals in sight.

“This looks like an ideal place for the Crystal Castle— maximum privacy for your She-Ra training, adequate space to install Light Hope’s advanced computers and it looks to be mostly uninhabited,” Ely said.

“It’s perfect,” Mara smiled.

“I guess it is,” Serenia said, cutting off Ely who had opened their mouth to say something probably like _Well ‘perfect’ is a strong word—._

Mara felt compelled to just stand there and admire it for a moment. It was breathtaking in a very different way from Eternia, without the rush of a huge city like Eternos or the resource problems smaller areas of Eternia often had.

But she’s not sure that’s the only reason. It must be a She-Ra thing, how she feels right now.

When she turns back to look at her friends, Ely is crouching on the ground taking measurements, while Serenia boredom holds the measuring tape at the other end.

“About 1,215 square feet,” Ely said.

Serenia wrote the information down, and gradually stepped off of the measuring tape.

Ely placed the measuring tape aside and took out a pocket knife, and took a sample of some of the plant species— taking caution with mushrooms and anything else that could be potentially dangerous, handling with care.

“I’ll have to study these mushrooms to make sure they’re safe to remove or relocate,” They said, “Most of these look non-invasive— it’d be a pain otherwise— and are not noticeably dripping sap, save for a select few.”

“Sap,” Serenia repeated, “What are we talking about?”

“We don’t know Etheria’s plants. Contact with strange plants, especially their sap, could cause skin irritation, inflammation, blistering, itchiness and stinging, among many other symptoms.”

“Ah,” Serenia said, “I’m just… not going to touch any plants.”

“They could also be toxic to ingest, so that’s a good plan,” Ely replied, taking sap samples from one of the tall, mysterious trees. They stood up on their tiptoes and clipped a leaf off of the tree.

“We won’t be able to proceed if the plants _are_ dangerous, right?” Mara asked, observing some flowers shaped kind of like a goblet, with spiked edges. 

“Well, it depends on how dangerous,” Ely replied, “If it’s just a rash, we’ll remove the plants and proceed, but if it’s threatening we may have to find a new location to set up at.”

“It’d be a shame,” Mara said, “This place just feels _right.”_

“It’s pretty,” Serenia added, “But I don’t have a strong opinion about this—“

“Is that a first?”

“Hush. As I was saying— I’m not picking up on the ‘right’ you’re feeling, Mara. Is it a She-Ra thing?”

“It might be,” Mara shrugged, “I haven’t learned that much about my powers yet. I’m supposed to do that while we’re here. No time for several years of training when there’s… Well.”

Her superiors told her that they could use Etheria’s magic to make an energy source— one which could potentially shield their planets from Horde Prime, or give them everything they needed to go undercover. 

She guessed she couldn’t blame them for being secretive about it. If it got back to Horde Prime, it’d ruin the whole project.

But she didn’t like not knowing about it. She felt left in the dark, like they were doing something they didn’t want her knowing about. 

When Light Hope’s set up, perhaps she could ask her. If she’d tell her anything more than she already knows. They told her about She-Ra, and what she’s supposed to do.

Ely quietly marked the location on their map.

  
  
  
  


Moving things from location to location was a long, tedious process but one that paid off. Mara, in particular, was the one who had Light Hope’s computer.

Light Hope powered up for a minute, presumably to meet her friends.

“ _This_ is Light Hope,” Mara said, showing Serenia and Ely her holographic companion. 

(Well, maybe companion is a strong word, she barely knows Light Hope, since she had to conserve power on the way here.)

Serenia and Ely jumped back a little at Light Hope’s sudden appearance. 

“Whoa! She’s creepy!”

“She is not,” Mara said. Honestly, Mara had met a lot of different holograms in her time serving Eternia, and Light Hope was the least creepy.

“Hello, Mara,” Light Hope greeted, and she turned to Serenia and Ely, “Administrators not detected. Please create a profile.”

“We’re friends of Mara,” Serenia waved her hand to shrug it off, “Nice to see Dr. Zoog cared enough to give us profiles.”

“But administrator Dr. Zoog did not give you profiles,” Light Hope said, confused, “Are you confused?”

Serenia sighed, “They never program sarcasm into these things. She’s still creepy, though.”

“Apologies. My appearance profile can be modified if you wish,” Light Hope offered, looking at Mara.

“No, no, _I_ like it,” Mara said, sticking her tongue out at Serenia. Serenia just smirked as a response.

Ely was still scratching notes on a pad of paper, unfazed by the friendly banter. They had a small smile on their face.

“So,” Serenia started with a smirk on her face, “Light Hope’s computer should have sufficient charge now that they’re installing part of it, so she should be up to at least 10%, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I like to commemorate our missions with a friendly, outdoor sleepover,” Serenia explained, “You two in? Light Hope will let us know if any bears come to attack us. Probably.”

“Not even a question.”

“Sounds fun,” Mara said, “Challenge you to a pillow fight.”

“You are _so_ on,” Serenia grinned.

“If I’m up against you two, I’m using magic,” Ely contributed.

“Even the playing field, I like it,” Serenia pulled them closer to her and Mara with a tug on their hood. She wrapped one arm around them, and her other arm around Mara, “The Friends of Mara are having a sleepover!”

“Is that our thing now?” Ely asked.

“Yep!”

Mara flushed, modestly, “It doesn’t have to be my name, you know.”

“It does, it’s catchier,” Serenia said, “And you can’t get rid of us now. Win-win.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

  
  
  


Later, they’d set up a big tent near the Crystal Castle outpost, covered in pillows Serenia owned. Inexplicably, Serenia owned a jillion pillows. 

“I like soft things. Don’t judge me,” Serenia shrugged at Mara’s expression. She wasn’t judging Serenia, but she hadn’t seen this many pillows maybe… ever. 

“You have the advantage in the pillow fight, due to it being your pillows and no two pillows being identical,” Ely said, “For this reason, I think it is only fair Mara and I get first selection.”

“Sure,” Serenia shrugged, and in a sing-songy voice added, “But you don’t know which one is the best.”

Mara picked out a sturdy pillow— it’d make a decent weapon and shield. Ely took five minutes picking out their pillow, but Serenia sighed in defeat when they revealed it.

“So what gave it away?” Serenia asked.

“I took into account stitch count, filling, durability, use and the fact it was hidden under the other pillows. It doesn’t hurt that I’ve attended your pillow fights before, either, Ren.”

“Why are you like this? You always got taken out of the pillow fights _way_ too early to face me,” Serenia pouted.

“Intentionally,” They smirked, “My strategy was to silently observe you, take notes and not have to communicate with a large crowd of people.”

Serenia gasped, putting her hand to her chest, “Betrayal. This was your plan all along!”

Serenia sighed, and chose a different pillow, “Don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because you’re our tech master. Or She-Ra.”

“Bring it on.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  
  
  
  


“Dr. Zoog,” a mysterious voice greeted, the lighting of the room casting him in the shadows. It felt bad lighting was the only way to get any privacy, sometimes.

“Candor. What is it you’re bothering me about at this time of night?” Zoog asked, “I’m very busy going over the blueprints.”

“ _My_ blueprints,” Candor reminded, “You may be a scientist, but you’re no sorcerer. This project requires something you _don’t_ have.”

“I’m aware. That’s why you’re here, after all. And your... apprentice,” Dr. Zoog droned.

“The subject I wished to address,” Candor said, “I advised against putting Ely on this project, and yet you pushed it forward anyway.”

“They _are_ your apprentice. A brilliant young mind, they’ve already submitted several detailed notes about their discoveries. You haven’t failed them yet, Candor.”

“Ely’s abilities and intelligence is not my concern. I _know_ how talented they are, _I’m_ the one who trained them. They have practically been my apprentice since before they could walk.”

“Seems like you’re bragging about your own merits more than theirs.”

“That is not the point I’m making here, Dr. Zoog. They have _always_ been more intelligent, _too_ smart for their own good. And too curious. I worry they may figure out _just_ what we’re doing.”

“They won’t. Not even Mara knows, and she is— after all, the key.”

“Mara. She’s the real problem— they’ve been talking to her. They told me already she seems to have a connection with the planet, as you and I already suspected.”

“Mara is taken care of. She does not know anything she shouldn’t, she _will not_ know anything she shouldn’t, as long as you keep your mouth shut.”

“I wouldn’t betray Eternia.”

“No, but that apprentice of yours— they’re quite open to you. Would I be wrong to assume it’s a mutual trust?”

“You would be wrong to assume anything,” Candor said, “My loyalty lies with Eternia, and I have never spoken a word of these classified details to my apprentices, and _especially_ not to Ely. I know they won’t have what it would really take to save our people.”

“Then they’re a fool in that way.”

  
  
  


Ely laughed, as they used sorcerer runes to levitate an army of pillows to shield them from their friends' fury. Then, in one fell swoop, launched the pillows at their friends.

“How’s that for magic?” They asked with a smirk. Mara used her arms to lift herself up.

“It’s very good,” Mara said, “Impressive. But…”

She pulled a pillow from out behind her and struck their feet, knocking them down. 

“I think I win.”

“Foul,” Ely said, but they were smiling.

“Rematch?” Serenia asked, already picking up two pillows, “But this time, I plan to win.”

“I thought you already planned that. It just wasn’t thought-out,” Ely teased.

“Oh yeah? Taste pillow!” Serenia swung a pillow directly at their face, laughter ringing out from their campsite.

  
  
  


“They’re a fool, yes, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my years, it’s that there’s a way to keep every fool in line.” 

“What _exactly_ is it you’re proposing, Candor?”

His mouth curved into a sharp smirk. 

  
  
  


“I’m tired,” Ely said, “Can we sleep now?”

“ _What?_ Sleep is for the weak. I don’t need to sleep— not when we have so many fun activities to do. Like… Uh…”

“Basket weaving?” Ely suggested, hands together and a hopeful expression on their face, like a puppy.

“Basket wea— do you even know _how_ to do that?”

“I don’t! I thought it’d be fun to learn,” Ely said.

“I’d love to learn basket weaving,” Mara added, “It’d make picnics more exciting, wouldn’t it?”

“Ugh, even your ideas of fun are boring,” Serenia pouted, but smiled. She yawned, “Maybe sleep _is_ a good idea.”

“Oh! _Oh!_ I thought sleep was for the weak and you didn’t need it!”

“Wasn't tired then,” Serenia said, “Goodnight, friends.”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rebooted Character origins:  
> -Ely, a sorcerer apprentice of Candor.  
> -Candor, a sorcerer who hibernated in mountain for at least 100 years. Lived in Serenia.  
> -Serenia, originally a very magical land but in the 2018 reboot, was briefly mentioned to be a mythical first ones hero who was friends with Mara.  
> -Dr. Zoog, an evil Trollan scientist who believed Trolla should be ruled by machines, instead of magic.
> 
> Updates on Thursday. If I don’t finish Chapter 4 in 4 Thursday’s then honestly, am I going to finish this story? Hopefully. Don’t let me rewrite it again. I learned square feet for this. Kinda.


	2. The Salineas Runestone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mara, Ely and Serenia are sent on a mission— to retrieve some stolen goods from pirates.  
> But things aren’t very smooth-sailing.

Serenia, Ely, wake up,” Mara called, her friends still fast asleep in the ship the two of them shared. Ely stirred, mumbly and wrapped up in a cocoon of comfort. 

“It’s too early for this. The Crys’al castle isn’t finished, we shouldn’t have to get up for like… mmthree more hours,” Serenia said, voice coated with sleepiness.

“Would you say that if I told you we had an active mission that’d take us to a part of Etheria we haven’t seen yet?” Mara asked, with a grin.

That got their attention— Ely sat straight up, “An active mission? What for?”

“Apparently, some of the important resources we were supposed to receive later this day were hijacked. Dr. Zoog said some Etherian bandits made off with the supplies, but because of the whole classified thing, we need it back,” Mara said.

She added, “He called ten minutes ago. He says we should try and have it back here by midday, or there could be a delay on the Crystal Castle.”

“Where—“ Ely tumbled out of their blanket cocoon, getting their foot caught and shaking it out, “Where to?”

“Looks clike Etheria’s ocean. There’s some kind of Etherian kingdom on the borders— it looks like you have to pass through, or over it,” Mara replied, “But there _does_ seem to be some kind of magic signature— strong, too.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Ely said, “We’ll be ready in ten minutes. Meet you at your ship. It’s smaller, so it won’t be detected as easily.” 

“Who’s so unreliable they couldn’t keep from losing some resources?” Serenia wondered.

“They might not be a fighter— they were just supposed to transport it,” Mara said.

“Hmm, I like thinking they’re just unreliable— maybe I’ll finally get into Zoog’s good graces.”

“Unlikely.”

“Hush, Ely. I can dream.”

  
  
  


“There’s some kind of building up ahead,” Mara said. Her scanners were picking up on some kind of small building, “It might be a sea port of some kind.”

“Ooh, like a _tavern?”_ Serenia asked, with a lot more interest. It was the first time this morning she actually seemed _excited_ about the mission.

“We’re not going to a tavern,” Ely said without missing a beat, “Stay on task.”

“Just a little tavern?”

“You know Dr. Zoog wouldn’t approve.”

“Really? We’re researching Etheria. We _should_ be stopping and mapping out things like taverns,” Serenia replied, “Besides, I could go for a frothy drink. Maybe something warm for the winter.”

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

Mara chuckled, “Come on, Ely, it can’t hurt. Maybe we’ll find our bandits there.”

“See, Mara agrees with me,” Serenia stuck her tongue out at Ely, “We’ll get the drinks to-go. Just pop in, pop out and on our way. You can take some super boring notes while we’re there.”

“Fine.”

The tavern was in a small city that seemed mostly used for ports, and the dreary colours on the outside brightened up on the inside.

“Let’s call it… Graydor,” Serenia suggested, “Cause the door was grey.”

“I think the door was more of a faded brown,” Ely said.

“Pedantics,” Serenia huffed, “Now, you two go sit over at that table. I’ll order drinks.”

“You don’t have any Etherian money,” Ely pointed out.

“I’ll manage.”

“You’re gonna do it again, aren’t you?” They sighed. They took their seat with Mara, who watched curiously.

“What exactly is she doing?”

“Flirting with Etherian women,” Ely said, bored, “She’ll probably get those drinks.”

Mara watched as Serenia twirled a strand of her hair, leaning closer to a buff fish woman and talking. They were both laughing. 

She seemed to point out her friends to the fish woman— as they both turned their heads. Mara smiled and waved, and Ely put on a friendly smile of their own.

Within three minutes, Serenia returned with three drinks and a grin. 

Leaving Graydor behind, they set their course for the bandits— the depths of the ocean below them as they cut through the air. They were halfway to the signal when something started beeping.

Mara opened up the scanner, which was detecting a ship from her squadron— and something else, too.

“It looks like… a bird,” Serenia said, “A bird is attacking the ship. Great.”

“I see sparks coming out of the engine. I guess either the bird or the bandits cause some potentially large destruction,” Ely added, “We’ll have to get in closer.”

“Well, we can’t leave a teammate behind. We can handle a bird, right?”

“Of course,” Serenia said, “The mighty She-Ra? You could take on a bird any day.”

Mara smiled, and pulled in closer to the ship. She grabbed her sword, “For the honour of Grayskull!”

Serenia and Ely watched with bated breath as Mara was engulfed in a day of light, emerging as the legendary warrior She-Ra.

Mara glanced at her friends and raised an eyebrow. 

“We’ve never seen you do that before,” Serenia said, “It’s different in person.”

“I’d love to run some tests and figure out precisely how this works,” Ely added, “Not right now, but in general.”

“Sure, Ely,” Mara smiled, “Now, let’s get that bird.”

Exiting the ship and climbing to the top, Mara and her friends got a good look at the bird— an unusually large swan with beautiful white feathers and a sharp beak. 

It was flitting its wings and wagging its tail, making a shrill hissing noise. It honked at the ship, pecking aggressively. Mara stepped forward, still glowing, and raised her sword.

“Stop,” She said, to draw the swan’s attention away from the broken down ship. The swan looked at her and hissed. 

Mara raised her sword, and unpredictably— a huge beam of light shot through it, hitting the swan. Mara gasped and stepped back for a moment, shocked.

The swan was engulfed in its own ray of light for a moment, as its wings, tail and neck-feathers tinted pink. The orange of its beak turned a vibrant pink.

The swan paused. Honked at Mara. And flew away, though not without causing a commotion and splashing them with water before leaving.

With the swan out of the way, they turned to the ship of their colleague.

“I’ll take a look at the back. Luckily, I planned ahead and brought some repair equipment. You two go check on whoever’s inside,” Ely said.

“Alright,” Mara replied, “But let us know if anything happens.”

“I will.”

Inside the ship, it wasn’t too different from Mara’s. Same basic design, but the ship itself was larger, designed to handle a large amount of cargo. She didn’t recognize the ship, so she wasn’t entirely sure if they were in the same squadron.

However, she did notice a figure backed against the wall, whimpering.

“Chad?” Serenia asked. 

Chad— Serenia had mentioned that name before, right? Mara approached the figure cautiously.

“Oh, thank you— I thought I was gonna be stuck out here forever,” Chad said, “Hi, Serenia. Wait— you’re glowing. You’re… She-Ra?”

“Oh, right,” Mara had almost forgot. She put the sword away, returning to her original form, “I’m Mara.”

“O… Oh. I’m, uh, Chad. I’m in Squadron Grayskull, too! We haven’t met, but I’m kinda the generalist of sorts. I’m just not, uh, equipped to deal with giant geese. Or pirates.”

“That was clearly a swan,” Ely said, coming inside the ship, “Aside from the obvious differences in feathers, geese are smaller and have shorter, straight necks.”

“Oh man, that was a swan? Great, now I don’t want to watch any swan-related plays again. Thanks a lot,” Chad sighed, “I thought they were supposed to be majestic.”

“Well, if you avoid the teeth, the razor-sharp beak and their size or just stay away from them, they are,” Ely replied.

“Wait, pirates?”

“Yeah, didn’t Dr. Zoog tell you they stole the supplies?” Chad asked.

“He just called them bandits. Pretty general term,” Serenia said, “He didn’t tell us we got to meet pirates!”

“You’re going after them, right? I’m gonna… stay here and fix my ship.”

“I already fixed your ship,” Ely said, “The damage wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. The engine should start now.”

“Oh.”

“In the meantime, you should follow us from a distance so when we reclaim the supplies, we have a place to put it,” Ely said, “Mara’s ship doesn’t have a storage compartment, and we needed a smaller ship for stealth.”

“Oh, okay! That sounds good with me.”

That would’ve been the end of the discussion, aside from an enormous wave that shook the ship. Mara peaked out the window, and Ely’s tracking pad kept beeping repeatedly.

“This doesn’t appear to be a normal wave,” They shouted over the noise, “It looks like magic is causing this—“

“There’s someone in the wave,” Mara said, “But they’re… They have a fish tail?”

Sure enough, when they climbed out through the emergency exit on the roof of the ship, they saw her— a woman with flowing, dark blue hair.

Her hair was soaking wet, but she seemed in her element. She dove under the water and emerged on another side, her tail swishing.

“Who are you?” Mara asked. The mysterious woman paused.

“Queen Mira of Salineas— who are _you?_ I’ll remind you that you _are_ in our waters. And just in time for our swans’ mating season.”

“Mating season?” Chad asked, but his question went unheard.

“We’re the Friends of Mara,” Serenia added.

“We come in peace,” Mara said, “We were passing through when pirates stole from us, and a swan attacked one of our ships.”

“It was scary,” Chad helpfully supplied.

“You’re too close to the nests. I’m guessing you aren't from around here— from the stars, I’d guess.”

“Yes,” Mara confirmed, “We’ll be on our way.”

“Not yet,” Mira said, “I’m taking you to Salineas. We’ll discuss the pirates and even help you get your cargo back. But first, I need to know you’re no danger to us. I’m sure you understand.”

“We understand.”

“Good! I’ll introduce you to my wife, Nami, then,” She said, and soon the waves were pushing their ships through the waters, all the way to what she presumed was Salineas.

“It’s marked as ‘Crystal Falls’ on my map,” Ely said, “I’ll have to add a note on what the Etherians call it.”

Their tracker pad beeped quieter now, but the rhythm was the same. They gazed at the huge gate in front of them.

“This is the Salineas sea gate,” Mira supplied, “No one gets in or out of our oceans without passing it.” 

“It’s beautiful,” Mara said.

At the entrance to the city, a woman was waiting. She had purple hair, and was wearing clothes in a similar fashion to the ones Mira was— a shirt that was cropped and her outfit shades of blue and gold, and decorated with scales.

“Mira,” She said softly, her voice full of love, “You’ve brought visitors.”

Mira jumped out of the water, her tail disappearing in an instance. She kissed her wife on the cheek.

“I found them a little ways away from the gate. _Figured_ we should make sure they’re no threat,” Mira said.

“Of course,” Nami replied. She glanced at Mara, Serenia, Ely and Chad and raised an eyebrow, “Well, they don’t look dangerous.”

“They certainly scared off one of our swans,” Mira said, “I think there’s a little more to them than they let on.”

“You, uh, saw that?” Mara asked.

“I saw most of it. Enough, I think.”

“Well, that’s not part of the plan,” Serenia said, “Then again, we didn’t really come up with a plan.”

“We would’ve, if you let me,” Ely mumbled.

Mira guided them to the throne room, guards following closely. 

The throne looked like it was made of seashells, and the throne room was surrounded by waterfalls. It was stunning, beautiful— Mara loved how they designed it.

Ely wasn’t focused on that, though— their attention was immediately directed to what was _above_ the throne, and a string of beeps told her why.

“Your… The pearl above your throne— that’s what powers your gate, isn’t it?”

“You figured that out quickly, for someone who doesn’t live on Etheria,” Mira commented, sitting on her throne, “Yes, it does. If you’re looking to take that power, I’m sorry to disappoint, but it won’t work for you.”

“No, we’re just scholars,” Ely said, scratching notes on a notepad, “I’d love to do more research on it sometime. Does every kingdom in Etheria have one of these?”

“They don’t all have a Pearl, but they do have a runestone,” Mira said, “Most of them, anyways. The one near Bright Moon— Mount Candila, I believe— doesn’t have one.”

“What if… what if it was possible to create an artificial runestone?” Ely wondered, “I mean, think of the possibilities— the planet is brimming with magic, but there’s only a limited number of runestones people use to access it.”

“What exactly are they talking about?”

“Nothing important,” Serenia shrugged, “You probably wouldn’t be interested, anyways.”

“So, are we dangerous?” Mara asked.

“You tell me,” Mira said.

“I’d say ‘no’. We aren’t here to hurt you or your planet,” Mara replied, “I’m sorry about the swan. We only intended to scare it off.”

“And the tall, glowy woman?”

“That’s classified. We’ll get in trouble with our superiors if we tell you, but that is an experimental magic project,” Ely cut in. Mara sent them a grateful smile.

“If they ever let you, I want to know all about it. You’d be a valuable ally for Salineas,” Mira said, “Friends of Mara.”

“We’d love to, if we’re ever allowed.”

“Now, I guess there’s no time to waste— can’t let that pirate ship get too far away, can we?”

  
  
  


Mira had them take a boat instead, but insisted it was the fastest model in Salineas. She seemed to be right— it wasn’t long until they saw another ship in the distance, drawing closer to it.

“There! I see our cargo!” Chad said.

Mara could see who she presumed was the captain— a strong, buff woman with messy red hair held up by a gold headband, the only other gold on her outfit being her gold belt and her necklace.

A dark blue chest plate over a pink shirt that was ripped at the bottom, blue gloves to match and a scarf draped over her arms.

The crew seemed to be full of colourful individuals— a moth woman with fluffy white hair and yellow ears resting on top of it, like a bow. Her wings looked delicate, and the scales on them almost looked glowing.

Her gold necklace matched her eyes perfectly, though almost hidden under her fluffy scarf. Her outfit, overall, didn’t look fit for the sea.

Dressed more appropriately was a turquoise lizard woman, with dots of orange here and there on her scales. Her eyes were gold, and she was overall extremely spiky,

Leaning over the edge of the boat was a woman staring deep into the sea— she didn’t look like a pirate with her light blue dress, which she seemed to wear over pants. She had gold bracelets on her wrists.

There was a rumbling from deep in the water, and Mara could swear she saw the woman over the edge grin.

“Crita,” Mira greeted the ship as they got close. The captain— Crita— immediately turned her attention towards them, narrowing her eyes.

“Queen Mira of Salineas. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Crita asked. She looked at Mara, a small ‘huh’ on her lips.

“Stolen cargo. It seems you just can’t seem to change, can you?” Mira said, “You certainly haven’t made a good impression on these people from the stars.”

“Like I care,” Crita smirked, “But since you’re here, I’m assuming you want the cargo? I’ll give you a discount.”

“No, you won’t,” Mira sighed.

“No, I won’t,” Crita smiled, “It’s actually higher for you. Being a Queen and all, it just makes sense.”

“We won’t be paying you anything,” Mira said, “You can hand it over, or we’ll get it ourselves.”

“You can try.”

“Mara, right?” Mira leaned over, “Do the glowy thing. She won’t give it up without a fight.”

“For the honour of Grayskull.”

Crita watched with interest, her eyes locked on the sword, “Well. That looks even more valuable— think I’d like it.”

“Too bad,” Mara said.

Immediately, Crita charged at Mara— jumping off of her own ship and onto theirs. Mira and Serenia snuck onto Crita’s, fighting her companions. Someone was singing, but Mara couldn’t tell who.

Crita fought with a baton with a ruby at the end of it, matching Mara’s moves with well-timed attacks. Mara had professional training, but Crita seemed very unpredictable— flexible.

No matter. Mara didn’t need to win, she needed to distract her. Mira and Serenia had already managed to take out the lizard woman, and the moth woman had taken flight,

Suddenly, the rumbling from the water became louder. The ship rocked aggressively, a loud growling from below. The woman in the blue dress was singing.

Crita paused, “Celice, knock it off, _I’m_ on this ship too!”

Briefly, Mara caught a glimpse of the creature that was responding to Celice’s song— a tentacled creature lurking in the depths. It could sink their ship if they weren’t careful.

Chad was ‘helping’ Mira transport the supplies while Serenia kept the moth woman at bay. But Mara barely saw anything— Crita was a surprisingly tough match, even for She-Ra.

It didn’t help that the ship was rocking. Crita seemed used to it, almost, like they had done this tons of times before. (Probably had.)

It was almost a dance. One of them was always one step ahead, but the other caught up just as quick. Crita seemed to even be emitting some magic from the Crystal on her baton, though Mara suspected you had to be hit directly with it.

She blocked her with the sword, but Crita moved quickly and landed a hit. It caused an electric shock, though She-Ra mostly blocked it out. 

However, that small hit did allow her to knock Mara off-balance. Mara fell to her knees, and Crita pointed her weapon at her face.

It even seemed Crita’s crew mates got the best of her friends— the flying one had complicated things, and Serenia was struggling to keep balance with the ship being rocked.

Suddenly, a spell was cast at Crita— Ely. It seemed a little awkward, but they roughly fired some offensive spells.

Before Mara could use this distraction, she heard a loud honk coming from the sky. The swan they saw from earlier came swooping from the sky, knocking the moth woman into the water. 

She flitted her wings aggressively at Celice, who jumped off the ship and landed on the sea monster. The lizard woman just sighed.

She growled something to Crita, who seemed angered.

“Are you kidding? That’s a Salineas swan! They’re worth a fortune,” Crita said, “With this, the sword and the weird tech we picked up earlier, we’ll be rich.”

The lizard woman growled again.

“You don’t have to help. I’ll do it myself.”

The Salineas swan seemed to take that as a challenge, as she attacked Crita next— flying towards her.

“Forget it!” Crita said, jumping onto her own ship. The swan landed next to Mara, who looked at it for a minute. 

“I’ve never seen a Salineas swan like this one,” Mira whispered, “Whatever your magic did… I think she’s yours now.”

“Shh, it’s okay, Yog,” she heard Celice say to the tentacle monster. The waters calmed down instantly.

Reluctantly, Crita and her crew stepped aside and let them have their supplies back. The looks the swan kept giving them probably helped— the swan was huge, after all. 

Mara lifted it with one hand— picking up Chad in the process by accident. She lowered him to the ground carefully, and he quickly scrambled back to the ship.

“Thank you, Queen Mira,” Mara said.

“You’re quite welcome— you’re a nice, cordial girl, Mara. You’ll have friends in Salineas if you ever need them,” Mira gave her a kind smile, “And it certainly doesn’t hurt you can turn into an eight foot tall woman with a sword.” 

They all laughed at that— even Ely giggled a little, despite usually being so serious. 

“Well, we’d better get going,” Ely said, “Dr. Zoog is waiting on these supplies. If we don’t get back in time—“

“He’ll get mad? Come on, Ely, he’s always mad,” Serenia interrupted, “I wanted to stop back at the tavern and see Coral again.”

“Coral?”

“The woman who bought us drinks?” 

Ely sighed, “No time for that.”

“We can come back after we deliver the supplies,” Mara said, “We don’t want to keep Light Hope waiting, either. I’m supposed to start training soon.”

“Fine,” Serenia sighed.

Mara gently pet the swan that had come to their rescue— just in time and perfect to deal with the pesky moth, “And thank you.”

The swan snorted in response. She wondered why it helped her, but she couldn’t imagine asking a swan a question would be anything but disappointing.

  
  


It was past midday when they got back. The sky was tinted pink and cloudy when they landed.

“So you, uh, you guys are pretty cool,” Chad scratched the back of his head, “It was nice to meet you. I’m uh, I don’t want to talk to Dr. Zoog. Please don’t make me.”

“We’ll handle it,” Mara smiled. Chad visibly relaxed, and waved goodbye.

“We will?” 

Mara opened up her contacts and called Dr. Zoog, who responded immediately,

“You’re late,” He said.

“We know,” Mara replied, “We ran into some interference.”

“Etheria’s animal life slowed us down a little, as well as some of the Etherians,” Ely added, “But it was not in vain. We managed to gather some interesting information regarding Etheria’s magic and how they’re harnessing it. 

“Don’t jeopardize the mission,” Dr. Zoog said, “It sounds like you’re drawing attention to yourselves.”

“We’re not, I promise.”

“Actually, only a small portion of Etherians have suspected anything is off about us,” Ely added, “Which is remarkable considering our ships.”

Dr. Zoog sighed, tiredly, “Just go alert the construction workers that thanks to that imbecile Chad, we’ve lost a day of progress on the Crystal Castle and entire project. _Not_ in those words.”

“Exactly in those words, got it,” Serenia said, before Ely elbowed her, “Ow!”

“At least try to proceed on schedule next time,” Dr. Zoog said, before ending the call.

“Next time? Hey, I think we’re getting more missions,” Serenia smirked, and pulled her friends in for a hug.

“It might appear that way, but it could just be a figure of speech—“

“More missions!”

“Alright, alright— just don’t get your hopes up,” Ely said, “Now, I believe Dr. Zoog told you to alert the construction workers? You _are_ project manager.”

“Ugh, fine.”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rebooted Character origins:  
> -Mira was originally just the daughter of a sorcerer who got kidnapped. However, due to some of the meanings of the name being “ocean” and “female ruler”, she’s the Queen of Salineas now.
> 
> -Nami, the ruler of the City of Aquatica. Shares her model with Mira and Celice. Now the ruler of Salineas with her wife.
> 
> -Crita, a character from the New Adventures of He-Man (same thing original Mara was) was the only female villain and love interest of Skeletor. I thought she’d make a good pirate.
> 
> -Celice and Yog, Celice was a tavern singer who could soothe the tentacle monster Yog with her singing. Now, she’s a pirate and Yog is her pet.
> 
> -Chad. Chad is mostly an OC, but there was a character in the original named ‘Chad’. This Chad takes nothing from that Chad.
> 
> -Enchanta was a giant swan in the original on the side of the rebellion, who could carry several people at once. She resided in Crystal Falls in the original, which is where Mermista was initially from.


	3. The Watchtower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Zoog needs help putting up the watchtower— but Mara and Enchanta get a little sidetracked on the way there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: implied/referenced selling of animals

Mara dodged drone after drone, rushing through the battle without stopping. She was almost completely surrounded— enemies of her people scattered here and there.

She was just about to take one out when another sprung up on her, almost nearly getting her.

Light Hope flickered into the air, the simulation paused, “Apologies. Should I lower the difficulty setting?”

Light Hope had only been set up for a few days, though it almost felt like the time had just flown by. She had so much work as She-Ra, there wasn’t really any downtime.

Mara gave a short laugh, “No, Hope, it’s fine.”

“Perhaps I should offer some hands-on instruction?” Light Hope said, “There is a spider to your left.”

It was barely even a fight, her sword slicing the aforementioned simulation spider in half. Mara turned to Light Hope, and smiled.

“Would spiders make the training simulation more effective?” Light Hope asked, tilting her head. Mara chuckled.

“Maybe it’s time for a break,” Mara suggested, “We don’t want to overwork your computer.”

“It is not yet overheating, but I digress. Perhaps a break will improve your focus and performance to Dr. Zoog’s recommended score.”

“Dr. Zoog recommended what score I should be aiming for?” Mara raised an eyebrow.

Light Hope nodded, “He has requested your progress be consistently reported to ensure you are ready when the time arrives.”

“Huh.”

“I believe this may be all the time you have left for training today,” Light Hope said, “Your steed is waiting outside the building.”

“Steed?”

“The steed of She-Ra is a usually winged animal of which you form a sacred bond with,” Light Hope explained, “The swan is yours. When you transformed her, you formed that bond. She is a part of you now.”

“Right, the swan,” Mara said, “I better go check on her.”

“I’m here,” Squawked a voice. Mara turned around swiftly, to find the swan had wondered in the castle— but she didn’t see anyone else. 

The swan tilted her head, “Also, my name is Enchanta, thank you very much.”

Mara stared silently for a moment, processing this new knowledge, “So, do all Etherian swans talk?”

“What?  _ No.  _ I’m just special. Also, you zapped me with your sword,” Enchanta grinned, “That’s why my name is Enchanta— I need a name as enchanting as I am.”

“Right, the sword,” Mara said, “Ely will love this.”

“Who’s Ely?”

  
  
  
  


Ely  _ did  _ love it. They took measurements and notes, and asked a lot of questions. 

“I didn’t expect to have a chance to observe a Salineas swan up-close,” Ely said, “Or any Etherian avifauna, really, let alone one capable of flight.”

“You almost seem more interested in that than the fact it can talk,” Serenia laughed.

“Well, I  _ know  _ how she talks, more or less,” Ely said, “Her connection to Mara and Etheria is allowing her to access powerful magic that lets her speak. There’s more to it than that, but you look like you’re going to zone out.”

“I have been for the last fifteen minutes,” Serenia replied, “Nothing new.”

“Oh.”

Light Hope materialized out of thin air, due to her computer being connected to Mara’s ship, startling just about everyone.

“Hey, Hope,” Mara said, “What brings you here?”

“I am here to deliver a message from Dr. Zoog. He has a mission for you,” Light Hope replied.

“The construction of the watchtower is still underway, but it is not enough for a sorcerer to connect the magical energy to the tower. It requires something deeper than that. It is time for Enchanta and you to forge your sacred bond.”

Mara looked at her friends, who wore expressions of confusion, and shrugged.

Ely raised an eyebrow, “Why does it need She-Ra? I recognize those coordinates, it’s just grass— there shouldn’t be anything interfering with the process, unless somehow the magic is weakest there. But why choose it as the location, then?”

“I don’t know, but if there’s a problem She-Ra can fix, I think she has to,” Mara replied.

“It doesn’t make sense to me,” Ely said, “But I’m sure Dr. Zoog knows what he’s doing— he is, uh, after all, the head of the project.” 

“Exactly. I’m sure it’s fine, Ely.”

“Right. Y… yeah.”

“Plus, it’s for Light Hope,” Serenia added, “It’ll allow her to access her plantery mainframe, which is kinda important for the project.”

“That is correct,” Light Hope affirmed, “Once I have access to my planetary mainframe, I will be functioning at 100% and able to devote all energy to facilitating the planet.”

Mara gave her friends a reassuring smile, putting a hand on Ely’s shoulder. They smiled back, though uncertainly.

“ _ So,  _ Mara,” Enchanta interrupted, “You ready for some sacred bonding?”

“Of course, Enchanta.”

“You should leave soon,” Serenia advised, handing Mara a tracker pad, “Here’s the coordinates. Dr. Zoog gets a little temperamental if a project isn’t on time.”

“Thanks, Serenia,” Mara said, climbing on Enchanta with a nudge from the swan. Enchanta puffed up her neck feathers, laughing in a maniac-swan manner.

  
  
  


Flying on a ship was one thing. It was fun, great even— though you often felt a little cooped up, pacing the same halls of the same ship for several days straight, in Mara’s experience— but it didn’t compare to this.

Enchanta was a natural at flying. A given for a bird, really, but Enchanta felt a lot safer than if she was on just any bird.

The wind through her hair as they soared through the sky almost made her forget the mission entirely— if not for the rhythmic beeping of her tracker pad. 

She glanced at the coordinates and their current location, comparing them, “Enchanta, we’re a little off course. I don’t think we’re supposed to be seeing those mountains.”

“It’s fine, I know what I’m doing. Sorta.”

“Sorta?” Mara asked, “Nevermind, I think we have to make a turn— this map says we’re going in the wrong direction.”

“Your map is wrong!”

Mara sighed and was about to continue when a ball of fire came flying through the sky at them, top speed.

Enchanta let out a startled honk, swerving roughly around it. Her feathers were nearly almost singed. 

Mara left out a small sigh of relief, looking at the ground— to realize there were more coming at them.

She barely had time to think before Enchanta sharply navigated around them, barely able to hold on with how fast the bird was acting. Enchanta was worked up— she could tell.

“Enchanta,” Mara tried, “You can calm down—“

Enchanta merely honked, loudly and aggressively, and flapped her wings roughly as she took them lower.

“Whoa!” Mara said, holding on tighter at the sudden move. Her bag flew open, her tracker pad miles below before she could even tell, “Oh, shoot.”

The distraction didn’t help— Enchanta couldn’t move fast enough, and the fireball managed to knock them out of the air. They fell through the sky, Mara just barely holding onto the bird.

Mara expected they’d hit the ground, or Enchanta would manage to fly them to safety. That hope was dashed when she lost her grip on Enchanta, falling further away from the swan. 

She couldn’t figure out what to do in time, but just before they made impact, they froze in the air.

“A Salineas swan. And a… peculiar girl,” A mysterious voice sounded out. They had a peppy voice, and if Mara could move perhaps she’d be able to see more than their shoes.

“The swan will go for a lot, and you… I think I’ll just keep out of my way, sound good?” The girl asked, and all of a sudden Mara did drop to the ground, though it was more of a tumble.

But upon hitting the ground, she noticed there was a rune on the ground— glowing, and creating a barrier around her. She saw Enchanta had a similar one.

Mara looked up at whoever had just captured them— a girl around her age with short brown hair, big black eyes and a freckled face.

She wore a golden ring around her head, and a long dress with a dark grey-purple skirt that matched her choker. She had small, gold earrings. 

The top part of the dress, separated by the gold belt with stones on it, was black with long sleeves and gold cuffs. On her chest was a four-pointed star shaped object.

In her hand appeared to be some kind of staff— long, dark purple with a lilac-coloured crystal at the end. It was designed to look like a snake was climbing up the staff, head wrapped around the crystal.

Perhaps more alarming was the source of the fireballs. Behind her stood a large, dark pinkish-red dragon covered head to toe in spikes, with gold, judging eyes.

“Oh, you’ve noticed Brightstar, huh?” She smirked, “But, I suppose you already kinda met Brightstar. His fire, that is!”

She chuckled, cheerfully walking towards the barrier Enchanta was kept in. Mara looked at her companion helplessly— unless they could break this barrier, they could be stuck here.

“I’ve never seen a Salineas swan quite like this,” The girl said, “Those feathers… I could get a great price on this.”

“Whatever the price, it still wouldn’t be enough,” Enchanta replied, “I’m priceless. You can’t afford me!”

The girl stumbled back for a moment, but quickly recovered, “And she talks, too? Oh, this is gonna be  _ huge! _ ”

“You’re not selling me,” Enchanta said, “I won’t be compliant. I’m a nuisance.”

“Oh, that’s not a problem for me,” She replied, “I’ll just put you under a simple sleep spell, and carry on.”

Enchanta honked furiously, flitting her wings at the sorceress. The sorceress smirked, but there was something underneath there Mara couldn’t place.

  
  
  


“So, what are we doing in the whispering woods again?” Serenia asked.

“I told you, I wanted to collect some more samples,” Ely said, “But, since the woods are an enigma— a constantly shifting landscape likely to ward off enemies— I didn’t want to get lost alone.”

“Lost alone, lost together— what’s the difference?”

“You can probably climb a tree faster than me to point us in the right direction,” Ely replied.

“That’s true,” Serenia shrugged, “Well, I guess look at plants, or whatever.”

Ely was about to reply— something short and simple like ‘I will’— when a soft, frightened voice rang out.

“Hello?”

  
  
  


Mara touched her fingers to the barrier, trying to feel the magic. She wasn’t sure if she could break it from the inside or not, but she’d be willing to try.

She wasn’t just going to leave Enchanta there. The sorceress who trapped them was leaning against her dragon, doing… something, she assumed.

“Hey,” Mara tried, “Sorceress?”

“What is it now, one of my two only captives?” The sorceress asked.

“You didn’t tell us  _ your  _ name.”

“I’m not here to make chit-chat.”

“Well, why not? We’re both here, and it looks like we’ll be here for awhile,” Mara replied, “I’d assume you have to work something out, like a transport or something? Until then, we might as well talk.”

“...Sibyline. Now, let me focus.”

“Nice to meet you, Sibyline. Sort of.”

  
  
  


“Hello?” The voice asked. Serenia and Ely spun around swiftly, but didn’t see anyone— until they looked down.

It was a moth child with black fur and red hair, eyes bright and purple. She had huge black and red wings. She wore a fluffy dress tied with a sash, boots with a similar ribbon and what looked like a rain hat.

Around her neck were gemstones that matched her eyes perfectly, standing out against her fur vividly.

She only looked about five or six. Serenia and Ely exchanged a look.

“Are you lost?” Serenia asked, bending down to her level. The child nodded.

“I was looking for flowers for mama, but I wandered too far,” She said, tears on her face, “I can’t find my way out— and, and, I keep running into the same stump an’ going in circles.”

Serenia gave her a soft smile, “We’ll help you, sweetie, what’s your name?”

“Telzy,” She flitted her wings hopefully, giving Serenia a big smile.

“Telzy. That’s a pretty name,” Serenia said, “Can you tell us where you’re from?”

“Elberon,” Telzy replied.

“Elberon, and where’s that?”

“On the edge of the forest. But I can’t find the way out, and the trees keep making noises and…”

“That’s okay, we’re here now,” Serenia said, offering her hand to the child who took it. Ely already had a map scanning for nearby villages.

“This way,” Ely said, “Provided it doesn’t change.”

“Then this way we’ll go. For Telzy.”

  
  
  


Mara sighed, leaning against the barrier, “So, what brought you here today, Sibyline? Or, can I call you Sybil?”

Sibyline paused, “No? I’m kind of capturing you, and holding you hostage till I can sell the swan. You don’t even need to refer to me by name.”

“We’re talking, though, aren’t we?” Mara asked, “I’m Mara, by the way.”

“We’re  _ not  _ talking, because we’re not friends. I’m selling the swan and you can’t stop me. You’ll just be in this…  _ this  _ dumb force field until they pick up the swan.”

“And then…?”

“And then what?”

“Then what will you do?” Mara asked, “You’ll release me? Or fly away on your dragon…?”

“Of course I’d release you, I’m not just gonna leave you trapped— hey, I said no talking,” Sibyline huffed, “And for your information, I’m leaving soon as I set you free. I’ll take my money and Brightstar and I will be out of here.”

“Oh? Where to?”

“...I was thinking, maybe… Greenvale. But it’s all the way over by Queryia, and it’s a long flight. We were thinking maybe,” Sibyline brushed a hand over Brightstar’s scales, “Maybe we’d rent a boat. Sail away from here and… somewhere we can start over.”

“Start over?” Mara asked.

Sibyline blushed, “Ah! Stop making me talk. I don’t want to talk anymore. You… you can’t change my mind, and I’m not going to talk myself into a circle! I mean… I think I just did.”

Mara sighed, and leaned back against the barrier. Enchanta was silent, but watching.

“You know, I’m not from Etheria,” Mara said, “In all honesty, I’ve never seen anything like it. I’m supposed to help it, but… I don’t seem to be very good at it so far.”

“I… I shouldn’t have steered us this way,” Enchanta cut in, “You told me we were off course, but… I’m not used to this kind of teamwork yet. This… sacred bond is exciting, because I won’t be alone, but… I just don’t know how to  _ be  _ a team.”

“You’re a swan, though. Don’t swans mate for life?”

“They do, but I haven’t. I didn’t have any family, and I haven’t found a mate. For a long time, I’ve had to fight my own battles, alone. Territory, nests… But now that seems so trivial.”

“I’m sorry I dragged you into this,” Mara said.

“I love my voice, Mara, and my wings. I’m not alone right now, so that’s… better than nothing, right?”

“...you were all alone?” Sybil asked, “No one to help you, or… care…?”

“No,” Enchanta honked, “But now I have Mara, for now.”

Sybyline went quiet, hand still placed on her dragon, Brightstar. Suddenly, Mara’s forcefield opened— Enchanta’s, too.

“This… this isn’t personal. I don’t like either of you,” Sibyline said, eyes glistening, “But I’m not splitting the two of you up. I’m not going to be that person.”

Mara gave Sibyline a soft smile, “Okay.”

Mara sat back down, away from the rune, “So, you have a dragon. I haven’t seen one of those yet, not on Etheria at least.”

“Huh? Aren’t you… going to leave?”

“If you want me to,” Mara said, “But I was having a nice time talking.”

“...yeah, I have a dragon,” Sibyline said, a small smile on her face, though she tried to hide it, “I’ve known Brightstar for years. I think we’re pretty close, but I… don’t actually speak dragon. How’d you meet your swan?”

“Enchanta and I met a few days ago,” Mara said, and Enchanta cut in.

“Ahem! I wanna tell it— so here I was, minding my own business on the waters of Salineas. Looking for my mate, you know, swan stuff. When this ship has the ABSOLUTE gall to crash near my makeshift nest!”

  
  
  


“Here you are, Telzy— edge of the woods,” Ely said, “Is this your village?”

Telzy nodded enthusiastically, “Let’s go find my mama!”

Ely and Serenia shared another glance as they were dragged by a small child to the village, where someone  _ did  _ appear to be looking for Telzy.

“Telzy? Telzy?” A woman shouted, searching high and low. She was tall with grey fur and black hair, and the same purple eyes as Telzy. 

She wore her chest out, a long robe-like dress tied with a sash in a similar fashion to Telzy’s.

“Mama!” Telzy cried, running towards the woman, who scooped her up immediately.

“Telzy! There you are, sweetie, I was worried!” The woman hugged Telzy tightly, but noticed Serenia and Ely, “Oh, who are you two?”

“These are my friends!” Telzy said, “They helped me, cause I was lost in the forest.”

“Thank you, whoever you two are,” The woman said, “I’m Mally, and I’m, well, the mayor.”

“I’m Serenia, this is Ely.”

“Come on, I'll give you two the tour.”

  
  


“And that’s how Mara and I met. How about you and Lightstar?”

“Brightstar,” Sibyline corrected, “Well, uh, when I was a kid I found this dragon egg. The nest was… long abandoned, it looked like. I think something scared off the dragons. So I took it and hatched it, and now I have Brightstar.”

“Is that kidnapping?”

“ _ Enchanta. _ ”

“Right, right, it’s  _ egg _ -napping.”

“Enchanta, no—“

“It’s egg-cellent.”

Mara shook her head fondly, “Sorry about that— I’m glad you rescued that egg.”

“So am I,” Sibyline said with a fond gaze on her dragon, who rumbled in response, “Now, not that I don’t like talking to you two— but don’t you have somewhere to be…? You were flying  _ somewhere  _ when I, well…”

“We do.”

“We did,” Mara corrected, “I lost the coordinates when my tracker pad fell out of my bag. I don’t know where we’re supposed to be.”

Sibyline frowned, rubbing her arm. 

“...what, um… what’s the area look like? Do you know?”

“My friend said it’s just grass,” Mara shrugged.

“A lot of it?”

“Must be. It was a pretty big area.”

Sibyline sighed, “I know where it is. I’ll take you— kind of the least I can do.”

“Wait, really?” Enchanta asked, “But you captured us. I kinda thought you hated us.”

“I don’t  _ hate  _ you. I just… I’m a mercenary. Sort of! I was supposed to get a Salineas swan, because someone asked, but… Well, I don’t want to anymore.”

“Well, thank you, Sibyl,” Mara smiled, “It’d be nice to run into you again, after this.”

“...maybe,” Sibyl smiled, “I hope so.”

  
  


“If there’s anything you ever need, you’ll have a friend in Elberon,” Mally said, “Don’t hesitate to stop by.”

“We won’t.”

“Ren.”

“Um, hesitate, that is,” Serenia clarified. Ely whispered, “Nice save.”

“Telzy’s a great kid,” Serenia said, as they were walking away, “She kinda reminds me of my sister. Though, Jari’s a little older than her.”

  
  
  
  


Ely wasn’t exaggerating when they said it was nothing but grass. There wasn’t a tree in sight, and it didn’t look like there were any flowers, either.

Sibyline waved bye before they were in sight of her superiors, which Mara was kind of grateful for. She didn’t want to explain this to her superiors, really.

She pulled out her sword, “For the honour of Grayskull!”

They landed beside the castle. Candor himself was standing there— Mara had never met him in person, and really only knew about him from Ely. 

“She-Ra. Took your precious time showing up,” Candor smirked, “Now, now, why don’t you and that pretty little bird forge that connection? Just point the sword outwards and circle around, hmm?”

There was something about him that made Mara a little uncomfortable, but that might be because Enchanta was hissing at him. She pet Enchanta’s head calmingly.

“Come on, Enchanta,” Mara said, softly, “We can do this.”

“I know we can,” Enchanta replied, “Let’s do some loop-de-loops.”

They circled the tower, focusing their combined powers together— they felt it, their sacred bond. Enchanta’s beak had started glowing, even.

Focusing the planets magic towards the Watchtower, they connected it. The runes on the ground lit up, turning the tech on fully. It was pretty incredible.

Mara hugged Enchanta once she was on the ground and herself again, and Enchanta gave her a friendly snort. 

  
  
  


“So, they fell for it?” 

“They did,” Candor confirmed, “Just like I said— we need to instill liability. Make Mara more active in the project, and it’ll be just as much her fault.” 

“An interesting manipulation tactic,” Dr. Zoog replied, “But you’d better be more careful around that pupil of yours— Light Hope has stated they were suspicious of the mission.”

“I told you it was unwise to involve them,” Candor said, “But nonetheless, I’ll make it work. We will be commencing operation Mizar on schedule, correct?”

“Yes. And our diplomats have just returned from the mountains surrounding it— Experiment Kindling is underway. Let us hope for a resounding success.”

“Indeed.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rebooted characters:  
> -Sibyline, originally from He-Man. She was originally an evil sorceress who later redeemed herself.  
> -Brightstar, a dragon from Preternia (1000 years before Adora)  
> -Mally. Originally the mayor of a town called Rosewood who fell in love with the redeemed Horde General Sunder and had a daughter named Telzy.  
> -Telzy, same origins as Mally.


	4. Mara of The Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unusual predicament traps Mara in the Crystal Castle.

Ely and Serenia aren’t back yet from their mission to a kingdom near Mizar— referred by the inhabitants as Glossfire, incidentally. It’s on the smaller side of kingdoms, nowhere near the size of Mizar.

(The reports from other squadrons suggest that the largest kingdom outside of Mizar is Galacia, though it's far out of the way, deep in the snowy mountains. She wants to go there someday.)

Ely told her all about it— it was ruled by Princess Inferna, the mountain was called “Mount Candila” and several notes on plant life and fauna. When she was feeling particularly restless, she read through all their notes— their many, many precise notes. 

Mara loved hearing from her friends, even if she was kinda stuck here training. But they were so busy, and it was getting kind of lonely and she was nothing but restless.

So maybe that’s why instead of going back to her ship, she finds herself laying on the floor of the Crystal Castle while Light Hope watches with what she assumes is curiosity.

“You are behaving in an unusual manner,” Light Hope commented, tilting her head, “Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine,” Mara said, “I’m just bored, I guess. There’s only so much training you can do in one day.”

That was part of it— it wasn’t the full truth, but she didn’t feel like explaining how being responsible for all of Eternia  _ and  _ Etheria weighs on you if you think about it too much.

This mission was incredibly important.  _ She-Ra  _ was important. And letting herself think about that was scary. This was bigger than anything she’d been a part of.

“That is true. You do have limits,” Light Hope agreed, “It is wise to rest and do leisurely activities to ensure you are at full functionality.”

“That is true,” Mara said, “What do you usually do? You know, when I’m not around.”

Light Hope paused, “I do not quite understand this question. When I am not training you as She-Ra, I overlook data for the Heart of Etheria project and facilitate the planet. But you already knew this.”

“I mean  _ besides  _ that,” Mara clarified, sitting up.

“...Aside from that, I temporarily shut down in a ‘sleep’ mode to conserve power.”

“Maybe we should both do something more… fun, today,” Mara said, “It’s probably better than just sitting here all day.”

“Fun. My personality profile does not contain the word ‘fun’,” Light Hope replied.

“Oh?” Mara raised an eyebrow, “I think you’re pretty fun, Light Hope. Well, when I’m not fighting spiders, that is.”

Truely, she does hang out with Ely and Serenia, so her definition of  _ fun  _ may be slightly different then most people’s. But what isn’t fun about a hologram?

She had a fun, formal way of talking and was friendly. She was good company, even if she wasn’t technically real. 

“Is there something that would make fighting spiders more appealing to you?”

“Hmm… maybe naming them,” Mara said, “Like, uh… what’s a funny spider name? Magnus? Spiderus? I don’t know.”

“Magnus,” Light Hope repeated, “It is done. I have named all of my simulation spiders for the next training simulation.”

“Really?”

Light Hope nodded, “Of course. If it will help you as She-Ra, then it is my purpose.”

Mara hummed, “Well, thank you.”

She was considering lying back down, maybe just staring at the ceiling for a few hours until she had something better to do, or the conversation continued, but the lights in the Crystal Castle suddenly went out.

“Light Hope?” Mara asked, but she wasn’t there. Where could she have gone?

Suddenly a flicker of light appeared— the very accurately named hologram, glimmering in the dark. But she was… glitching, almost.

“Light Hope, are you okay?”

“I—“ Glitch, pixels scattering and reforming, “I am experiencing a minor glitch. Apologies, my systems have gone offline.”

“Okay…” Mara glanced around, “How do we fix it? What is the problem?”

“It— It—It app—appears that the redirected magic is overflowing my-my sys-systems,” Light Hope glitched out, “It is interf—fereing with my computer.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Perhaps. As Sh—Sh—She-Ra, you may be able to redirect the flow and slow it down so my—my computer can c-c-catch up.”

Mara nodded, “Which way?”

“Allow me,” Light Hope said, slowly moving (and glitching) down the dark corridor.

The only light illuminating the castle was the purple-blue hue of the hologram. Mara ran her hand over the wall, tracing the intricate details.

She’d never been in this part of the castle before, really— she wasn’t in here much for anything aside from training, and they never really switched up the training area. 

Mara didn’t realize she was humming a familiar tune until Light Hope paused.

“You are making a hum—humming noise,” Light Hope said, “Are you malfunctioning?”

“No,” Mara laughed, “It’s just for fun. Well, and habit.”

Light Hope didn’t say anything else, so Mara just continued talking, “It’s a song we used to sing in school when I was a kid. I used to hum it to help me focus, and I guess it became a habit.”

“I do not have any record of this song. Would it help improve your training?”

“I don’t know— but I can teach it to you, if you want.”

Light Hope paused, as if hovering over the word  _ want.  _ Hesitantly, she gave a nod.

Mara smiled, “It’s called Mica of The Moon.”

Softly, she started singing, her voice echoing in the corridors eerily.

_ There’s a girl on the moon _

_ She sings her song out of tune _

_ From the Bright to the Dark _

_ Sitting on the moon’s arc _

  
  


“A moon does not have an arc,” Light Hope said, with confusion, “It is spherical.” 

“It’s just how it looks during some phases,” Mara replied.

As silence overcame them again, Mara broke it with her soft melody.

_ There’s a girl on the moon _

_ But she’ll have to leave it soon _

_ From the Bright to the Dark _

_ On a new quest she’ll embark _

“Where is she going?” Light Hope asked.

Mara hummed thoughtfully, “Anywhere, maybe. Maybe she’ll travel to one of Etheria’s moons— Etheria does have quite the selection. I always thought she was looking for… somewhere.”

“Where was she looking for?”

Mara shrugged, “Somewhere special.”

_ There’s a girl on the moon, _

_ She sings her song out of tune _

_ She’s been there all afternoon _

_ But I think she’ll leave there soon _

_ There’s a girl on the moon _

_ Sitting alone in the dark _

_ Right there on the moon’s arc _

_ She’ll fall asleep under stars _

“And that’s it,” Mara said, “They usually use it to teach little kids about our moons, but people sing it past then.”

“But it is misinformation if the moons only appear to have an arc,” Light Hope added, shaking her head. Mara just grinned at her.

Suddenly, Light Hope glitched almost violently— the lights flickering back on for a moment only to incase them in darkness. 

“Hope?”

For a minute, the only sound Mara could hear sounded like the pitter-patter of rain against the castle and strong winds.  _ Is it storming? _ She wondered. Is this a result of the magic overflowing?

Light Hope flickered back in, but her form had been dimmed— her glow was fainter, and harder for navigating. Mara looked at her with concern.

“It ap-ap-appears that the Heart may be taking in too—too—too much magic at once. It has caused planetary imbalance, overloading our systems and affecting the weather. My sensors indicate there is a heavy rainstorm.”

“So we need to move quicker, I take it?” Mara asked.

Light Hope nodded, “In the meanwhile, I must convert to low energy mode or I will be unable to guide you to the overflow.”

Light Hope glided across the floor ahead of Mara, who followed as fast as she could. 

Which turned out to be a bad idea, because without the light it was harder to avoid obstacles— especially for her hair. 

Her braid snagged on a sharply-angled… something. It was hard to see exactly what it was. The castle was practically all sharp, pointy edges.

_ I’ll have to re-braid that later,  _ she thought idly. 

They arrived at the control panel— hidden in a secret passageway that Light Hope led her to. She wasn’t supposed to be here, really, but whatever was going on with the magic was enough of an excuse.

There was a cascade of magic down into the core she could see through the window. She felt like she could, maybe, slow it down. But did she really have to be She-Ra to do so?

She placed her fingers on the panel, glancing at Light Hope for instruction.

“You m-m-must use She-Ra to slow the flow. It is the only way,” Light Hope said, “Point the sword and focus.”

“What if…” Mara paused, “Can I try something?”

“...You are not authorized to improvise,” Light Hope said, “The only way is through She-Ra.”

“Can you trust me?” Mara asked.

Light Hope glitched in hesitation, like she was coming to a decision, “...Provided you are not exposed to classified material, you can attempt an alternate solution.”

Mara smiled, and immediately started typing— her people weren’t new to this, they  _ knew  _ that it could have bad side effects if it took in magic too fast. There was usually a switch to slow it down.

_ Ah-ha!  _ She found it. But the magic intake wasn’t increasing from here… it was coming from… 

“Glossfire,” Mara said, “That’s the problem. This isn’t the source— it’s taking magic in at a normal pace here, but at Candila… The experiments are messing with it.”

Light Hope glitched, and tilted her head, “The—the—the overflow is occurring elsewhere?”

“Yeah, looks like it.”

“Apologies. It seems I have misled you. With my systems offline, I am malfunctioning. I can not help you properly. If it is not from the castle, there is nothing we can do.”

“No, there is,” Mara said, “We can call Ely. I think I should be able to get my communication pad working, even in this weather.”

“Would that really help the situation?” Light Hope asked.

“I don’t think it’d hurt it.”

Light Hope led her out of the classified room and back down the halls. Mara quickly found her communication pad, turning it on. The signal was a little fuzzy— maybe she could climb somewhere she’d get a better one.

Silently, Mara began to climb the walls of the castle to the highest platform she could get. The castle walls didn’t have anything super stable, but if she was careful she probably wouldn’t fall.

Light Hope seemed to notice what she was doing, as a new and much more stable platform popped out of the wall.

“Thanks, Hope,” Mara climbed onto the platform, checking her signal. It wasn’t a great signal, only marginally better than before.  _ It’ll have to do. _

_ Contacts… Ely _ .

“Hello?” A blurry, moving Ely showed up on screen. The call was static-y, but they were through, “M—ra, the sig—nal isn’t ideal. Is the storm bad where you are?”

“Yeah— is your project causing the overflow?” Mara asked.

“Yeah, we fig—ured th—at out the hard way— it was a resounding success,” Ely said, their voice barely intelligible over the heavy wind, “But it went  _ too  _ well in that way— we’re trying to tone it down. Candor wants to abandon the project.”

“Maybe for the best,” Mara replied, “Light Hope’s systems are completely overloaded and it’s causing the storm.”

“We’re going to—“ Ely said, and their voice glitched out for a second. She didn’t catch part of what they said, “—but it’ll take awhile.”

Serenia showed up in frame for a minute, “Ely, we have to hurry.”

“Hang in there,” Ely said, before the screen faded to black.  _ Well,  _ she thought,  _ I guess we’ll be hanging out longer. _

Mara jumped down from the platform, and sat down against the wall, “We’re gonna be here awhile.”

“I am technically always here,” Light Hope said.

Mara frowned at that— for a moment, she realized just how limited Light Hope’s world was and she felt… sad about it. Light Hope was alone all the time— could she feel loneliness?

“Sometimes you’re on my ship, but you’re right,” Mara replied, “Guess you’re stuck with me for a little longer, huh?”

“I am not corporeal. I cannot adhere to anything.”

Mara chuckled. Suddenly she realized her braid was still messy.  _ Well, nothing else to do. _

She released her hair from the braid, untying it completely. Maybe she should just do a ponytail until she has good light. Might get caught on things a little less.

Light Hope watched her, glitching every now and then. 

“You wanna sit with me?” Mara asked, “It’s nice down here.”

Hesitantly, Light Hope sat down— as much as a hologram could. Even at low power, she was warm, making Mara realize just how cold the crystal castle was and absentmindedly leaning into it.

“Sitting like that for a long period of time could cause pain in your lower back,” Light Hope said, her voice with a little concern.

“Mmm, it’ll be fine, Hope,” Mara smiled. She liked sitting this way, it was comfortable. But it was nice that Light Hope was looking out for her.

Mara quietly hummed the soft tune she taught Light Hope earlier, combing through her hair with her fingers. She twirled a strand.

She wondered what time it was. It must be late by now… 

Sitting next to Light Hope, who was smiling at her while she hummed and twirled her hair, she doesn’t even remember stopping at some point.

Light Hope is warm, radiating heat right beside her. It was almost hard not to fall asleep. So she did— or that’s what she assumes when she wakes up the next morning, Light Hope still beside her.

Interestingly enough, she had a blanket on her and behind her head was a pillow. Did someone stop by…? Light Hope couldn’t physically do that.

(She thought it might be one of Serenia’s many pillows, but she didn’t have them all memorized.)

“You did not have adequate neck support for most of the night,” Light Hope said, “Is your neck alright?”

It wasn’t ideal, that was for sure— and she may have lost feeling in her legs at some point. 

“It will be,” She said, “I just need a minute. Were you there the whole night?”

“I was. I did not wish to leave you unsupervised while you were vulnerable,” Light Hope replied. Mara smiled, and raised an eyebrow— sometimes she really felt like more than an A.I.

“Thanks.”

Light Hope merely smiled back at her. Once her legs woke up, she stood up to look outside. It sounded like the storm had stopped. 

As suspected, outside the door was clear skies. The early morning sky was a light blue painted with pinks, and she could hear the birds already singing.

Light Hope had stood up, too. She was beside her, looking at the outside. She felt a twinge of sadness that her holographic friend couldn’t join her out there. Mara paused, considering…

“It was fun hanging out with you,” Mara said, “I know we don’t have training until later today, but maybe I could hang around longer?”

Light Hope tilted her head, “What would you hang from?”

  
  
  


Ely and Serenia stopped by later on, while Mara was enjoying a conversation with Light Hope about little things. 

“So, how was the mission?” Mara asked, her friends sitting on the floor with her.

Serenia shrugged, “The storm wasn’t great.”

“Informative,” Ely added, “It was a success— we managed to harness Etheria’s magic and redirect it into an artificial runestone. It  _ did _ , however, throw off the balance of the planet.”

“Worked a little too well,” Serenia said, “The runestone is too strong. Fire is already a dangerous element, and we just went ahead and made it  _ more  _ dangerous by playing with it.”

“We cautioned the Etherian princesses about using it.”

“Sounds like an eventful mission,” Mara said.

“It was. So, what did you do?” 

“I hung out with Light Hope, mostly.”

Serenia sighed, “I am so, so normal, and my friends are so, so strange. Hanging out with a creepy A.I at least semi-willingly, or taking a plethora of notes…”

“That’s why you like us,” Mara said, “That’s why we’re your best friends.”

“You  _ are  _ my best friends,” Serenia agreed, “You didn’t lose my pillow though, right?”

They laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Glossfire. That’s from the graphic novel, except they didn’t name it so I had to. While not the Princess mentioned in the novel, I did name the current Princess Inferna.
> 
> -The Eternian children’s song showcased in this I wrote in like, five minutes. The title was more or less from a song title generator, so that inspired this.


	5. The Freezing Mountains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Dr. Zoog calls with another assignment, The Friends of Mara (and Chad) find themselves in the very cold Northern Reach.

Ely was on their knees rewiring a part of their ship, mumbling things incoherent to everyone around them.

“So, I asked Dr. Zoog. We’re getting our Etherian maps soon, but there’s still a little area left to map— somewhere snowy and out of the way. It’s completely deserted apparently, might be dangerous,” Serenia said, sitting on Mara’s counter. 

“Dr. Zoog should really just get an Etherian map,” Ely added, “We could probably just ask for one, but he’s so paranoid.”

“That sounds like it’d be a big operation,” Mara replied, “How big is the team?”

“So far? It’s apparently just Chad— Zoog is trying to get more people to volunteer, but they’re apparently whining about it being risky or  _ cold.  _ I volunteered us, of course.”

“Did he say yes?” Mara asked.

Serenia sighed, “Not yet. He said something else might’ve come up for us. Honestly, though, I think he still doesn’t trust me.”

“Because of the “leak” incident?”

“It was years ago! Jari’s not five anymore. It was such a stupid thing, too— it wasn’t important. I didn’t think it mattered.”

“Dr. Zoog does seem a little paranoid regarding that situation,” Ely added.

“What could’ve made him so suspicious?” Mara asked, “It couldn’t have been that bad.”

Serenia huffed, “It wasn’t. Okay, you didn’t hear this from me— if anyone asks, you heard it from a kid back on Eternia. But all I told her was that Primus had a floating city.”

“Really? That’s all?” Mara raised an eyebrow, “That’s what was so classified, it got you kicked off the mission?”

“I know!” Serenia said, “It wasn’t anything big— Jari and I just thought it was cool. But Zoog thought it meant I couldn’t be trusted to keep a secret. This is my first big mission since.”

“That’s really rough, Nia.”

“What’s rough is if my mistakes keep you guys from actually doing something productive. So Dr. Zoog doesn’t think I’m a professional— fine, great. But I’m worried that by association with me, he won’t trust the two of you.”

“Would it really matter if he trusts us if it means you weren’t on the mission with us?” Mara asked, “We’re kind of a team. Squadron Grayskull.”

“The Friends of Mara,” Ely added. Serenia smiled.

“Thanks— you guys are good friends,” Serenia said.

“We are,” Ely agreed, standing up from where they were rewiring something, “Team hug?”

“Yeah, c’mere you two.”

The group hug was interrupted by a ring. Ely sighed, answering the phone call.

“Mara, Serenia and Ely,” Dr. Zoog said, “All here? Good. I won’t have to make three separate calls. Let’s cut to the chase.”

He waved his hand and a holographic map showed up on screen, the 3D details showing one of their ships.

“Trusted members of another squadron were transporting dangerous material. It _was_ going to the Hazardous Material Disposal Site, but their ship was hijacked by Etherian bandits. General Ruth reports that they’re likely the same bandits.”

Dr. Zoog continued, “Since you three clearly didn’t talk sense into these corsairs the first time, I’m giving you another chance. The swan was a priority, but now the priority is getting rid of those materials.”

“What’s wrong with the materials?”

Zoog sighed, “A fair bit, if I’m being honest. Mostly, they’re a tad... explosive, classified and potentially flammable. Fortunately, nothing they took was incriminating, but it’s a danger to them. It could backfire on us significantly.”

“Material like that needs to be handled with precise care,” Ely said, “It’ll pose a serious threat to their safety if they don’t return it— and potentially, depending on just how wide-scale it is, the collateral damage alone could possibly take out a kingdom if it’s in the wrong place.”

“Precisely,” Dr. Zoog replied, “There’s no time to waste, so I expect you to gather anyone else you feel you might need and hurry up. I’ll send the coordinates.”

“Right. Of course,” Serenia said. Dr. Zoog promptly hung up, barely giving them time to say anything at all.

Ely sighed, “He barely gave us any time to prepare. Understandable given the circumstances, but if the material is really so dangerous, we have to be prepared to handle it properly.”

“Let’s focus on getting it back, first,” Serenia suggested.

“If we’re lucky, maybe Crita can be reasoned with. If it’s dangerous even in the hands of us, it can’t be good in hers,” Mara said.

“It’s not at all safe in hers,” Ely added, “It’s barely safe in ours. That’s why we’re dropping it on a deserted island.”

“I guess we’d better hurry. The longer we prepare, the further away Crita is getting. It could go off at any moment,” Mara replied.

“Then off we’ll go,” Serenia said, “Come on, Ely. Did you finish rewiring?”

“Five minutes ago.”

“Perfect. Grab a seat, Mara,” Serenia grinned, “We’re going to catch a pirate.” 

“And retrieve highly classified, highly hazardous material.”

“And retrieve— I’m not saying all that,” Serenia said, “Hey, these coordinates— isn’t that near the Freezing Mountains outpost?”

“Freezing Mountains? The one unmapped area?” Mara asked.

“Yeah,” Serenia shrugged.

“Ooh, we could lay down some groundwork for that part of the map,” Ely suggested, “I’m not really a professional cartographer, but Chad took a few classes.”

“Chad took cartography classes?” Mara asked.

Ely nodded, “Yeah, he kinda took a bit of everything. We could ask him to join the mission.”

“Ugh, really?” Serenia sighed, “Heart of gold, but the man is kinda clumsy. To put it politely.”

“He’s not that bad, and he’s the one who volunteered to map the Freezing Mountains,” Mara said, “I’ll ask him.”

“Or you two could just take your seats and this mission could go well?”

“Ser…”

“Fine.”

  
  
  


“Thanks for letting me come,” Chad said, tapping his feet from where he sat in his chair. Serenia sighed, already regretting this.

It wasn’t that she didn’t like Chad or thought he was completely useless, really. She just wanted this mission to go  _ really well  _ and Chad had a track record of… is failures too harsh?

_ I mean, he couldn’t take on those pirates the first time,  _ Serenia thought,  _ So why would he be any help with that this time? _

But, the vote was unanimous. Even if Chad wasn’t much help in combat, ideally he’d be help in other areas. She could hope.

...okay, so maybe she seemed a little hypocritical. But Dr. Zoog is still so wary of her, and her career is important to her. 

She’s worked hard to get where she is, and even harder to stay there after the “cloud city” incident, as General Ruth so affectionately refers to. 

The tall, snowy mountains come into view as they continue heading north, the ship getting slightly colder. Light Hope pops in.

“Hey, Hope,” Mara said, incidentally having nicknamed the AI.  _ Are they all buddy-buddy now? Light Hope is basically a babysitter. _

“Greetings, Mara,” Light Hope replied, smiling in a way that almost looks genuine. If she wasn’t basically a robot, Serenia would believe she was being friendly.

“I have been assigned to supervise this mission,” Light Hope explained, “Administrator Dr. Zoog has heard unsettling rumours about happenings in this region, and wanted to take precautions.”

_ Great. He sent a babysitter,  _ Serenia thought. It’s not like they haven’t handled anything dangerous before. She groaned.

“Is something the matter?”

“She’s fine,” Mara said, “She’s just being dramatic.”

“I’m not dramatic, I just don’t need a babysitter.”

Light Hope tilted her head, “The word ‘babysitter’ is not in my dictionary. What does it mean?”

“Ugh.”

“Ugh,” Light Hope repeated, “This is also not in my dictionary.”

“Mara!”

  
  
  
  


Setting up camp could take awhile, depending on how cooperative everyone was. Serenia and Mara did most of the heavy lifting, while Chad mostly just slipped on ice.

Ely did maintenance, making sure everything was in order and tip-top shape. 

They all wore heavy coats due to the freezing weather, still shivering. But they were nothing if not effective.

“I could probably turn this into a space heater,” Ely said, fiddling with a box of spare parts, mixed and matched. 

“I could, too,” Serenia joked, “By setting it on fire.”

“It’s not flammable,” Ely said.

“Not with that attitude it’s not.”

“Highly unlikely.”

“Pour kerosene on it,” Mara suggested, unhelpfully.

“That’s… that’s combustible, Mara. And a bad idea.”

Mara shrugged. Somewhere in the background, they heard Chad slip. 

“Guys?”

“What, Chad?”

“The signal is approaching  _ us. _ ”

“...The signal?”

“You know, the tech signal. All hazardous material is equipped with a tracking signal so we know if it made it to the island.”

_ Of course Dr. Zoog wouldn’t mention that. _

“And to keep it from getting mixed up with non-hazardous tech. It looks like that pirate is coming to us, rather than make us go to her.”

Mara put her hand on her sword, “How far away is she?”

“It looks like she’ll be docking soon.”

Mara exchanged a look with her friends. Serenia glanced at the map in Chad’s hand. Wait… how did he have a detailed enough map of the Freezing Mountains?

“How do you have this map?”

“I’m a cartographer. Well, I was for a little bit. I mapped it when we flew over. Rough draft.”

_ Huh. _

“Crita is going to be here soon. Maybe we can distract her with a fight again and take the materials?”

  
  
  


Mara, Serenia and Ely proceeded on foot to find Crita. The mountains were treacherous, coated in a thick layer of ice and snow. 

  
  


“Knew you idiots would be here,” A voice called out. Mara and her friends turned abruptly, glancing at Crita. She had a coat on, but she seemed to be alone.

“Crita.”

“Yes, I can say my name too,” Crita laughed, “You know, we can make a deal.”

“We don’t want a deal. We want our tech.”

“You do something for me, and I’ll give you your tech back,” Crita smirked, “You know, my crew’s getting awfully small nowadays. We could use some strong, clever warriors in our crew. You can have all your tech back and more.”

“We’re not interested.”

“Shame,” Crita sighed, “But I can’t let you stand in my way.”

She drew her baton. Mara drew her sword, pointing it to the sky, “For the Honour of Grayskull!”

“Fancy trick, but She-Ra won’t help you now.”

“Where’s the tech, Crita?”

“If I told you that, what would the fun be?”

“Stop messing around,” Mara said, “It’s dangerous. This isn’t just tech, it’s—- hhgh— hazardous.”

“I’ve been heard that before. It may be true 50% of the time, but I’ll deal with it,” Crita said, “I think it’s a risk I’ll just have to take, Glowstick.”

Mara forced all her strength into her fight. It almost might be better to fight as herself rather than She-Ra— her balance was always so awkward as She-Ra. The form didn’t handle the same, like walking with two left feet.

She-Ra had more raw strength and power than Mara, even if she wasn’t really used to the form. 

(Or the fighting style— Light Hope taught her very direct fighting techniques, when Mara had practiced evasive, clever maneuvering-based styles for most of her life.)

Crita was equally matched with She-Ra’s movements, but Mara was always a quick thinker. She used her foot to kick Crita’s feet out from under her while she was distracted fighting.

Crita regained her balance and flipped away from Mara. She dug in her coat pocket.

“Well, as much as I love a good fight, this clearly isn’t one— so I’m going to go and sell that tech now.”

Mara and her friends stepped forward to apprehend her, but she tossed some kind of smoke bomb on the ground, disappearing.

“Great,” Serenia commented.

Mara turned back into herself, slinging her sword where it belongs. 

“She couldn’t have gotten too far.”

“We don’t know that for sure,” Ely said, “She’s Etherian. She knows this place better than us. Shortcuts, convenient sledding locations, magic… We don’t know if she could teleport, either.”

Serenia sighed, “At this point, I don’t know if that’s helpful or just… Ugh.”

“Well, our map picks up heat signatures,” Chad supplied, “The actual terrain layout could use some work, but at least it’ll give us  _ some  _ indication of where to go.”

Ely leaned over his shoulder, “So we’re here?”

“Yep. It looks like there’s more heat signatures in this direction,” He drew a line on the map with his finger, “Which I think is near the lake, so that’s where Crita must be heading.”

“Then we’ll just have to beat her there,” Mara said, “She doesn’t know the danger she’s in.”

The snow seemed to thicken as they walked, almost up to their knees in snow. The cold just reminded her of the Crystal Castle, with the space heater hologram.

It took longer than they’d hoped to reach the lake, but it seemed Crita had been waiting for them for some reason.

“Offer still stands, She-Ra,” Crita smirked, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all just be friends? You’d make a great pirate with those moves. Though, not a very  _ fast one,  _ judging by how long it took you to catch up.”

“Well, it is snowing,” Celice added, “Maybe they’re better than they look.”

“Enough, Crita,” Mara said, holding her sword up high and transforming into She-Ra, “This isn’t a game. You can’t just keep taking our tech and sailing away with it.”

“But I’m so good at it,” Crita replied, swinging herself over the edge of her ship and sitting on it.

“You're tiresome, is what you are,” Serenia mumbled.

“What’s that, troublemaker?” Crita raised an eyebrow, “No need to be shy. Speak up.”

“I said you’re tiresome,” Serenia said, “You’d think after how things worked out last time you’d stop taking our stuff. You were tracked down by She-Ra, us, a giant swan and the Queens of Salineas. That’s not a success.”

“That’s an average day for me. What’s your excuse?” Crita asked, resting her head on her hand, “You didn’t even manage to stop me without the swan.”

“Serenia, maybe we shouldn’t irritate her intentionally,” Ely whispered. Serenia gave them a look.

Crita jumped down from her ship, drawing out her baton, “Lizara, Flita, take care of those two. I’ll take She-Ra.”

Immediately, Crita was at Mara’s face, but Mara was just as quick. Fighting her previously had paid off, especially with the combination of her training.

Light Hope had used her memories to create a personally-designed simulation specifically  _ of  _ Crita for her to fight. After awhile, the patterns started to become more noticeable.

Crita’s fighting style was evasive and speed-based. Her actual attacks didn’t hit very hard, especially not on She-Ra.

Her speed was her only power, if she ever needed to face someone with magic, like a sorcerer or a Princess. That much was clear.

(Ely had theorized about her baton, too, though— the red stone on the end of it appeared to be a natural crystal with a small amount of magic. It didn’t channel it like a runestone, and according to Ely, probably had to be charged.

_ Guess that’s why she rarely uses that attack,  _ Mara thought.)

Crita’s expression showed she was surprised Mara was keeping up with her this time, surprised she lost her advantage after one fight.

(She was so preoccupied she didn’t even notice Serenia and Ely had already taken out her crew. Without the boat being rocked by Celice’s little surprise, they had already managed to throw her crew overboard, landing them in the snow.)

Crita turned her head around sharply, gasping. She went more offensively, poking Mara with her baton to throw her off for just a moment.

In a swift movement, Crita back flipped onto the edge of her ship and ran towards Serenia and Ely, who were getting dangerously close to the tech.

Mara followed, almost as though in a race. Crita was a little more careless, kicking something into the tech.

Serenia and Ely backed away into a sprint, but Mara grabbed Crita before she joined them and ran. Her hesitation in running away left her without any time to escape.

Mara turned her sword into a shield, putting it in front of Crita, shielding them from the rubble and flames. Crita stared at her, stunned.

“See why you can’t just take our tech?” Was all Mara could say.

Crita didn’t say anything at first, just looked away. Mara pulled her off the ship as it went up in flames.

“Why did you do that?” Crita asked, softly, “You risked your escape, and for what? To help someone who stole from you more than once, who attacked you?”

“Couldn’t just leave you there,” Mara said, “We wouldn’t do that. But maybe next time just listen to us.”

“We’ll see, Glowstick. Guess you win this round,” Crita almost smiled, but she looked genuinely defeated. Even last time, when a swan was attacking her, she had on this confident persona. Was it a facade? Was it slipping?

“How about we call it a tie?”

Crita sighed. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a map, handing it to Mara, “It’s hard navigating the Northern Reach if you don’t know where you’re going.”

“Northern Reach?” Chad asked.

“Where we currently are?” Crita raised an eyebrow.

“So that’s what it’s called,” Chad said, “Huh. Neat.”

“Now, I can’t imagine there’s anything else you need,” Crita said, “So we’ll be going. Even though my ship is destroyed.”

Mara was about to offer to give Crita a ride out of the reach when she dropped something from her pocket, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. 

Mara sighed, “That was strange.”

“Yeah,” Serenia said, “We’re going to have to tell Zoog we didn’t get the tech.”

“Yep.”

  
  
  



	6. Protectors of The Crystal Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ely struggles with a pet project, and Serenia and Mara partake in a festival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: a mildly creepy man, probably not much worse than Sea Hawk.

Ely stared at the blue prints they sketched out, with careful consideration. This was going to take a lot of power to make— power they just didn’t have.

“Maybe you can convince Candor to give you the resources?” Mara suggested, “I mean, it sounds like a good idea.”

“I don’t know,” Serenia said, “Candor isn’t really one for nepotism. He only likes ideas if they’re his.”

“He likes ideas that aren’t his. Just not… mine, usually,” Ely replied, “They’re multi-function, and I know the Castle is already protected by Light Hope and her security protocols, but they can do so much more.”

“It sounds like a great idea,” Mara said, “I can’t imagine why Candor would say no. You already said you’re building it from abandoned scraps.”

“Yes, but the tech I need  _ is  _ really classified, and powerful. Only higher-ups have access to it— Candor, Dr. Zoog, General Ruth… It’s rare for them to give it to just anyone.”

“But you’re not just anyone,” Mara said, “You’re Ely— tech master, sorcerer and top researcher. Your reports are so thorough I think even  _ Zoog _ skims them.”

“Sorcerer apprentice,” Ely corrected automatically, “I’m not a good enough apprentice to have learned enough to even be classified a ‘novice’. It’s probably so embarrassing for him…”

They sighed. Mara placed a hand on their shoulder, “Hey. I’ve seen you do magic. You need to give yourself more credit.”

Ely shook their head, “Haven’t you seen Candor do magic? I’m nothing in comparison.”

“You don’t have to be Candor,” Mara said, “You’re Ely— so what if you aren’t thousands of years old, having millenniums to practice magic? You’re enough.”

“Thank you, Mara, but if it’s okay I’d like to return to my work now,” They said, turning away from her. Mara frowned.

Serenia grabbed Mara’s hand, “Let’s leave them alone for a little while. Come on, there’s something I wanted to show you.”

Serenia dragged Mara out of the ship and as soon as they touched the ground, started speaking in a hushed voice.

“They don’t like talking about magic, usually. They don’t think they’re good at it,” Serenia said, “They didn’t really respond with Candor’s teaching methods, no matter how hard they tried.”

“Couldn’t Candor have tried a different method?” Mara whispered.

“Could’ve, not that Ely would be comfortable asking him to do that,” Serenia replied, “It’s best to leave them with their work when they get like this, I think.”

Mara nodded. Ely was pretty reserved, and usually had their hood up. Like… a snail, retreating into its shelf.

(Serenia told her it made them feel more comfortable, which Mara understood.)

“And anyways, I heard a village up ahead is having a festival. I thought we could check it out,” Serenia said, “There’s a lot more to planets like Etheria than what meets the eye.”

“Wouldn’t this be against protocol?” Mara raised an eyebrow.

“Dr. Zoog hasn’t specifically said anything against going to festivals. And it’s really the best way to experience a planet, trust me. Most of these people probably won’t even notice us, or just assume we’re travelling.”

Mara nodded, “Well, if Zoog hasn’t said we can’t… Let’s go see an Etherian festival.”

  
  
  
  


“Dr. Zoog. Head Sorcerer Candor,” Ely said, greeting the figures on the screen. They nervously wrung their hands.

“Apprentice,” Candor greeted coolly, not even glancing towards them. He looked bored and uninterested.

“Ah, our top researcher and tech master,” Dr. Zoog said, “How wonderful to receive a call from you. Tell me, what is it you have for us this time? New information about the planet? Usually you just send those in reports.”

“...No, this time I have a… a proposal,” Ely replied, gathering their courage, “I understand that the Crystal Castle is well protected, but as the most critical part of our operation, we can always use to up the security.”

“Light Hope is fine security,” Candor said.

“Let them finish,” Dr. Zoog brushed off Candor.

“The project I am proposing is one made of recycled materials, scraps that would otherwise be thrown away,” Ely said, “Resembling Etherian wildlife, and able to pose as a number of Etherian fauna living in the forest. They would be agile, calculative and able to alert Light Hope  _ before  _ any potential threats get close to the castle.”

“Intriguing,” Dr. Zoog said, “And could they serve any other purposes?”

“Combat capabilities are included, and they’re prepared to be a makeshift steed should some sort of chase occur. I have noted, already, more than one occasion in which they could be useful,” Ely replied, “I have a full report written, including the blueprints I intend to use.”

“And if you have all that, why haven’t you made them?” Candor asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Because they are advanced technology, I need advanced technology to power them,” Ely said.

“I see. You want LUVD tech, correct?” Candor asked. Ely nodded, meekly, “Because we just give that away now?”

“No— I…”

“Candor,” Dr. Zoog shook his head, “Ely’s proposal seems useful. You know how valuable the castle is. Any extra security measurements are welcome.”

“Fine. But you’ll have to prove yourself, first,” Candor said, “The Freezing Mountains are unprotected. The data there is invaluable. If you can design and build something to guard the mountains, then I’ll consider it.”

Dr. Zoog nodded in agreement, “A fine idea, Candor. We’ll see what you come up with, Tech Master Ely.”

They ended the call. Ely sighed— Candor never seemed to like their ideas.

The multi-purpose defenders of the Crystal Castle were designed as horses, from afar appearing as any other animal. But they were more than that. They could even cast illusions over themselves to appear as an Etherian deer, should it be necessary.

They were packed with power, really, highly technologically advanced with sensors to indicate any threats based on a complex series of code to determine just  _ what  _ counted as a threat.

A squirrel, for example? They wouldn't care for that. But an Etherian would get a reaction.

They’d send their video feed to Light Hope, who would be able to lock down the castle. If the Etherian was determined to get in, they had a number of security measures to keep them from doing so.

Such as stealing something that looked important from the Etherian and running away, forcing them to follow them out of the woods and or get lost.

Aside from that, they would help them keep up with Mara and Enchanta. They were designed to run almost as fast as Enchanta could fly.

(They were even considering adding wings.)

But how were they going to design something  _ else  _ that would impress both Candor and Dr. Zoog, for that tech? They weren’t sure if they could.

_ Back to the drawing board, I guess. _

  
  
  
  


Serenia dragged Mara to the festival, which was quite the sight— people were dancing and twirling ribbons, children were playing and everyone seemed happy.

They sat down at a table, decorated with flowers and pastries. There were instruments playing, and it wasn’t like any of the ones Mara had heard before. Not quite, anyway.

Serenia was about to say something when a man came up to the table. He was pretty average-looking, and flashed a smile.

Though he didn’t look like he lived in this village, Mara noted. He looked like he was a traveller, much like them. He was wearing armour.

“Hey,” He said to Mara, sitting awfully close to her. She leaned back instinctively, and he scooched closer, “What’s your name?”

“Classified,” Serenia said, “Sorry, but we’re spies from a rival village, so.”

“I don’t live here. I’ll help you spy, even,” He grinned, “But, first I’d like your name.”

“Again, classified,” Serenia chirped.

“Aw, you can trust  _ me _ .”

Mara  _ really  _ didn’t like this guy and as absurd as the story Serenia came up with was, she was grateful for it. 

“Doubt it,” Serenia mumbled.

“We’re busy with work right now. I’m sorry,” Mara said politely, “Our superiors won’t be happy if we give out our names.”

“You already told me you’re spies,” He said, “I’m B.H, if I can’t have your name right now… Maybe you’d like to go out sometime?” 

He placed a hand on Mara’s shoulder. Serenia was behind him and removed his hand swiftly, before she could even react.

“What’s the B.H stand for? Butthead?” Serenia asked, standing between him and Mara. 

“That’s kind of rude— after how nice I've been,” He said, “You know what, maybe you aren’t worth it.”

“Maybe you could leave us alone, Butthead,” Serenia replied, “Or, I don’t know. Maybe I’ll slip and my sword will just end up somewhere you don’t like. Maybe.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“What? Me? No!” Serenia said, dripping with sarcasm as she slowly pulled her sword from the sheath, “I would never. “

“Fine,” He mumbled, leaving the table.

“You didn’t have to threaten him,” Mara said, “Thank you.”

Serenia shrugged, “I’ll always stand up for my friends when they’re being too nice.”

“If you ask me, ‘butthead’ was a little too nice,” Mara joked.

“Yeah, I got a little sister,” Serenia smiled, “Have to make sure I don’t say anything really rude in front of her. Gotta be a good role model.”

  
  
  


Ely stared at the design they were drawing, their mind miles away. None of their ideas felt like good ones.

...but when they were just alone like this, they had a habit of letting their thoughts run wild. They always went to the same place, though.

Ely sighed, placing their pencil down and quietly exiting the ship. They turned towards the Whispering Woods and started walking, letting themselves get lost in the shifting landscape.

  
  
  


“You know, I can’t stop thinking about Crita,” Mara said, “Our last interaction was strange.”

“Yeah, it was,” Serenia shifted in her seat, resting her head on her hand.

Mara nodded in agreement, “And didn’t she seem… off?”

“Yeah, she got less confident after you saved her,” Serenia said, “And disappeared before I could even flirt with her.”

“You wanted to flirt with her?” Mara asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course,” Serenia replied, “Have you seen her?”

“Not really my type.”

“Well, let’s go buy something,” Serenia said, holding up a bag of coins.

“Where’d you get that?” Mara asked, raising an eyebrow. Serenia grinned.

“I pick-pocketed Butthead, around the same time I was removing his hand from your shoulder. He should’ve picked a better place to keep it, honestly, if he was gonna be a jerk.”

“Isn’t stealing considered mean?”

“Not if it’s from Butthead. It took me no effort.”

  
  
  
  


Ely stood in the Whispering Woods alone, shifting their positions unconfidently. 

They placed a book on the grass gently, putting a rock on it to keep it from changing pages in case of any breeze. They took a deep breath.

Slowly, they attempted to draw the rune in the page and cast a simple spell. It didn’t do anything.

They tried again, and again but it still didn’t work. They sighed, “Why did Candor take me as his apprentice if I can’t even cast something simple, like this?”

They barely noticed the breeze overhead as something flew over, and landed just a little bit away. So caught up in their own head they didn’t notice a girl watching from the trees.

“Huh?” Sybyline watched with curiosity as Ely kept trying the spell, her hands on the bark of a tall tree.

The way they looked so disappointed every time it didn’t work… Sybil empathized, so she turned to her dragon and whispered for him to stay put.

Quietly, she walked over to them. They didn’t notice her until she spoke, her voice soft, “You need more focus.”

Ely jumped, turning around swiftly. Their eyes widened, “...who are you? You weren’t there a second ago, were you?”

She shook her head, “I’m Sybyline. I was looking for a friend, but I couldn’t find her so I stopped in the woods and saw you practicing. I’m a sorceress, too.”

“I’m just an apprentice,” Ely said, “I only get spells right about half of the time, and I haven’t managed this one  _ once.” _

“You might be too centered on your feelings. You have to let yourself feel them, let them go and concentrate on the spell,” Sybil said, “If you think you’re going to mess up, it becomes a cycle of doubt.”

Sybil pulled out her staff and drew the same rune, taking a deep breath and casting. It created illusionary fire, blasting from the rune yet producing no heat.

They noticed her staff, intrigued by the design. A snake curled around the purple crystal on the end.

Sybil picked up the book, “These aren’t simple spells.”

“Huh?”

“Most people start out with simple light illusions, made out of shapes. Like this,” Sybil drew a light illusion of a dragon out of shapes, “And work their way up with more realistic ones. It’s usually master sorcerers who do something like this.”

“You’re really good, then,” Ely said.

Sybil blushed, “I don’t know about that. So, how many light illusions have you learned?”

“This is the first one I was trying,” Ely admitted quietly, “My teacher gave me this book to use, but I’m not very good at these spells. It’s taken me years to learn any of them.”

“They’re advanced spells. Did he give you any other levels? Beginners, novice, intermediate?”

“I don’t know,” Ely said, “The first one he gave me was a book of defence spells. So I can do some of those, like this.”

They drew the rune and cast a defensive, knock-back kind of spell. Sybil looked impressed.

“That’s not a beginner spell,” She said, “There might be a gap in the spells you know. I have some books that might help, if you wanted them?”

“You’d let me borrow your books? I haven’t even told you my name.”

“I don’t really read them much anymore, and besides,” Sybil gave them a small smile, “You want to learn magic. You’ll get more out of them.”

“Brightstar,” Sybil called. Soon, her dragon was in the clearing. Sibylline climbed on to where her bags were, and took out five worn books. With them in her hands, she slid down.

“These should be better. Here,” Sybil placed the books down, and opened one. She pointed to a spell, “Try this one.”

“I don’t know…” Ely said, “I’m really not good at magic.”

Sybil giggled, “If you weren’t good at magic, you wouldn’t have been able to learn an advanced spell. Especially without working your way up to it. Come on, you’re a natural.”

Ely blushed. Sybil hesitantly placed her hand on theirs, “Here.”

She guided them on drawing the rune, letting go of their hand when it was drawn. Ely glanced at her, and she nodded. They cast the spell.

A light illusion of a horse galloped, as they guided it. They turned to Sybil and grinned.

“See, you did it!” Sybil flashed a bright smile. 

“Thank you,” They said, “I’m Ely.”

  
  
  


When Ely returned to their ship, they started to draw a new design. Their inspiration was overflowing, suddenly full of so many ideas.

_ Snakes,  _ They thought,  _ let’s do something with that. _

Their pencil sketched as though it had a mind of its own, and before they knew it they had a complete blueprint. The guardians of the Northern Reach.

They scanned the sketches and sent them to Dr. Zoog, with some technical information.

  
  
  


“Well, we didn’t find Mara,” Sybil said to Brightstar as she ran her hands down his snout, “But we did make a new friend, I think.”

Brightstar made a soft growl noise, and Sybil curled up around him as if to sleep, “...It was kind of nice, wasn’t it?”

  
  
  


“Ely,” said a voice they didn’t recognize. They turned their head— it was someone who worked under General Ruth Liz. They were holding a package.

“Dr. Zoog sent this for you,” They said, placing it down gently. Ely smiled.

“Thank you,” They said. They felt they already knew what was inside, and they felt… proud. The person left almost immediately and without giving their name, but that was fine.

A big project usually meant you didn’t get to meet everyone, anyways.

They opened it up eagerly, and sure enough— it was LUVD tech. A powerful piece of technology designed to power highly advanced tech and give it a special boost of power, courtesy of the Heart. 

Being “loved” was used often when transporting heavy objects, or like in the Crystal Castle. They never really thought Candor would let them near it, let alone Dr. Zoog.

But now that they had it, they could make their multi-purpose steeds.

...but maybe they’d do that tomorrow. It was a long day.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Butthead is an actual character from the same version of He-Man Mara is. Isn’t that wild?


	7. Madame Razz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An old woman barges into Mara’s ship. Meanwhile, Serenia is homesick.

“You’ve been practicing,” Sybil said, giving Ely a cheerful smile.

“I finished the book last night. I really appreciate the help, Sybil. You’re a good teacher,” Ely replied, “I don’t know why, but every time Candor tried to teach me I just disappointed him.”

“Some teaching methods just don’t work for some people,” Sybil said, “When I was learning magic, I had a teacher like that. For me, they kept making me do the same spell until I perfected it.”

“I don’t know why, but having to do the same motion over and over really bothered me. I felt like I was getting nowhere. It took forever to perfect a single spell,” Sybil explained, “But one day, N— one of my… other… teachers, took me under his wing.”

“And it really helped?” Ely asked.

“Yeah. Instead of just making me do the spell again, he helped me figure out  _ why  _ the spell was giving me difficulty. He even let me study multiple spells at once,” Sybil smiled, though there was something sad under it.

“I’m glad I can help you,” Sybil said, “But, your teacher… Did he ever at least try changing the methods?”

Ely shook their head, “I never brought it up. He was really counting on me, and I didn’t want to bother him.”

Sybil reached out for their hand, holding it tenderly in her own. She didn’t say anything, didn’t really need to. It was like a deep understanding. Like they both knew that feeling.

  
  
  


Mara swept her ship, humming to herself. Light Hope watched, quietly observing her though she wasn’t certain it was valuable information.

Communications were officially up today, so most of her colleagues were off to send messages to their loved ones. Mara had to admit she felt a little left out— the only person on Eternia she could be considered close to was her neighbour.

(And it’s not that she and her neighbour are close, more of her neighbour is an elderly woman who bakes too much and is always looking for someone to share. And almost never has all the ingredients.)

The exception was Ely, and they were out doing some work. They didn’t tell her what, just that they were going to be busy today. 

It’s why she chose today to tidy up her ship. She even asked Light Hope to keep her company. Though, it would’ve been nice for one of her friends to help her clean. Serenia, in particular, contributes to the mess.

(Light Hope will occasionally point out when something she’s stacked isn’t symmetrically and will give her advice on how to make it look symmetrical and neat.)

“I am not sure I understand why you asked for me,” Light Hope said.

“Just wanted company,” Mara replied, “Cleaning is tedious, but it’s also… tidyious.”

“A play on words, I presume?” Light Hope asked, “It is amusing.”

Mara smiled, “Who knew you had a sense of humour?”

“I am not programmed with  _ any  _ senses other than visual and auditory. Though, perhaps, you may include “common sense” in that list.”

Mara smiled. Did Light Hope just kind of… make a joke? Sometimes, she wondered if Light Hope was more human than people gave her credit for. It’s… small things, mostly.

The thing is, she thinks Light Hope is  _ always _ collecting data. She might even know more about Mara than she knows herself at this point.

But the data Light Hope integrates into her personality is entirely of her own. Her mannerisms aren’t like Ely, or Serenia or even Mara. She only seems to have more depth the longer Mara hangs out with her.

She hasn’t mentioned this to Serenia or Ely, but part of her likes to think Light Hope is a friend. Someone who cares about her the way she cares. 

(But she knows Serenia doesn’t really care for holograms. It’s not that she dislikes them, but they do tend to freak her out.

She isn’t sure, but she suspects Serenia might not like being listened to all the time. Like the moment she makes the smallest mistake, it’ll get right back to Zoog and she’ll be back at square one.

Mara understands, even if she doesn’t  _ really  _ think Light Hope’s sole purpose is to wait for them to mess up.)

Mara froze, suddenly— she could faintly hear something from outside, like rustling or… well, it was hard to decipher.

“Stay here,” Mara turned to Light Hope, despite the fact the hologram had a limited number of places she could go, “I’m going outside for a moment.”

She wasn’t sure if Light Hope noticed the sound, but she assumed she hadn’t— otherwise she would’ve mentioned it already. The hologram was constantly alerting her of small details. (The other day she told her that two birds had landed on the Crystal Castle.)

Mara went outside, cautiously, holding the sword of protection.

It didn’t sound like any of the wildlife she’d hear on Etheria. And Mara practically lived in the woods— she could probably tell you exactly what animal it was based on the sounds it made rustling.

And then, out of seemingly nowhere was what appeared to be an old woman. Mara jumped into action as the old woman moved the leaves out of her path.

“Where are you—“

“Who are you?” Mara demanded, “How did you find this place?”

“Ah, Mara, dearie, there you are. Madame Razz wondered where you went,” She greeted, as though this  _ wasn’t  _ the first time she had ever met her. It sent a chill down her spine.

“H… How do you know my name?” She narrowed her eyes.

“Oh, is this the first time?” The old woman— Razz(?) gasped, “It’s been so long since it was the first time.”

She chuckled, putting her hand on her chest. Then, she brushed it off, “Nevermind. Razz is only here to borrow some sugar.”

And before Mara could stop her, the old woman walked past her.

“Wha… Hey!” Mara said, “This location is highly classified. You can’t just—“

Razz wasted no time going through Mara’s things, knocking them all onto the floor. The things which Mara had  _ just  _ arranged neatly again after Serenia knocked them over the other night.

“How can you find anything in here, Adora? This place is a mess!”

“Give it—“ Mara barely caught one of the many items Razz was tossing around. The old woman jumped off her counter and Mara tried to collect her boxes before she came back, only to notice she was headed dangerously close to the SHE-RA Crystal.

Mara dropped the boxes, and watched with wide eyes as Razz levitated a pink box into her hand. (A little dramatic, given it was perfectly in her reach.)

“Magic,” Mara breathed out, “You know how to use magic.”

Razz chuckled, and began piling the boxes into her basket manually.

“Hey, stop that!”

Razz spotted the crystal, and pulled it out of the control console. Mara was quick to make an attempt to take it from her, though the old woman was surprisingly strong.

“Mine! It’s mine! I—“

As if on cue, Light Hope appeared, “Intruder detected.”

Mara, being used to Light Hope appearing without any warning, wasn’t startled. Razz, however, was and let go of the crystal, sending Mara flying backwards.

“Razzle Dazzle!” Razz swung her broom at Light Hope, phasing through her every time. Light Hope turned to Mara.

“Mara, who is this person?”

Mara chuckled, grabbing the crystal and getting to her feet, “I don’t know. She just wandered in.”

Razz hid behind Mara, “Do you see the ghost, too?”

Mara glanced at Light Hope and chuckled. 

“Her presence is unauthorized. You must remove her from the premises or I will be forced to alert your superiors.”

“Your ghost is mean. Agh.”

“What are you looking for?”

Razz hit her with a broom, “Sugar!”

As Mara was rubbing her head, Razz started ranting nonsensically, “How can Madame Razz make a pie without sugar? Ah. Don’t ask such silly questions, Adora.”

Mara frowned, furrowing her eyebrows, “Adora?”

Light Hope smiled at Mara, watching her. Mara glanced at Light Hope and pouted, to which the hologram frowned. (But as soon as she turned her head, Light Hope went back to smiling.)

“I need to get up,” She watched as Razz attempted to reach a box. “Razz, is it?” Mara walked over.

“Alright, here you go. Sugar.”

“Ah! Thank you, dearie,” Razz grabbed Mara’s face and kissed her cheek.

“You cannot let her take things and leave. She could’ve been exposed to classified data about the Heart of Etheria project,” Light Hope said, “We need to detain and interrogate her.”

“You really think  _ she’s  _ somehow found information about a project so classified even  _ I  _ don’t know all the details?” Mara chuckled, “Come on, Hope, look at her— she’s clearly harmless.”

Mostly.

“Besides, we’re here to study this planet's magic, aren’t we? Who’d know more about Etheria’s magic than the Etherians?”

“...You know I have to report this,” Light Hope said, and she turned away from Mara, “It is in my programming.”

“Can’t you let it slide?” Mara asked, and then decided to test something, “Please, Hope? For me?”

Light Hope hesitated, “...Unauthorized presence… not detected.”

Mara smiled widely, a burst of joy overtaking her.

“Any reports to the contrary are incorrect.”

“Thanks Hope,” Mara said, “Couldn't ask for a better friend.”

Mara went to chase after Razz, but Light Hope just watched.

“Friend,” She repeated.

  
  


“Okay, Razz, promise you’ll stay away from the ship from now on,” Mara said.

“Sure thing, Adora. See you tomorrow!”

“No, you can’t come back tomorrow. And why do you keep calling me ‘Adora’? Who’s Adora? Razz, wait!”

But within the blink of an eye, Razz had disappeared into the woods. Mara sighed. From now on, she’d have to keep an eye out for an old woman.

(Maybe Adora was her granddaughter? It’s not like she misheard Mara’s name when  _ she  _ was the first one to say it.

Maybe Mara looked like her.)

This whole thing was leaving Mara with an eerie feeling, like there was something she was missing.

On the bright side, she supposed, was that Light Hope really  _ was  _ more than just a program. Serenia and Ely were wrong about Light Hope. After all, there’s no way Dr. Zoog would program Light Hope to let anything slide.

No, that was all Light Hope. 

  
  
  
  


“Hey, Jari,” Serenia said, attempting to find the right words, “We’ve been on Etheria for a few months now— what’s it like back home? Dance lessons going okay?”

“It’s interesting here, though I can’t tell you much about it. It’s looking like I might be here for awhile. Maybe even a year or two,” Serenia sighed. She missed Eternia, and she missed her family.

“I know the standard communication won’t let you send a long message,” Serenia said, “But if you want, you can still show me what you learned in dance class. Just like back home.”

The general public of Eternia didn’t have access to the longer recordings, like Serenia did. Anyone on the project could send a message up to two minutes long. The general public got about ten seconds.

It didn’t seem fair, honestly. She wanted to hear her family reply, hear about her sister's lessons. But she’d have to wait.

“Well, there’s a line behind me to send a private message, so that’s all I can say right now,” Serenia said, “Um, Ely says hi. Talk to you soon, Jari.”

If she had longer, she’d tell Jari about Mara. Provided that wasn’t classified.

  
  
  


“Are we ready, Dr. Zoog?” General Ruth Liz asked. She hovered over his shoulder, a blank expression on her face. 

“Almost. Sebrian and Candor are nearly finished. We got all of the smaller, unprotected runestones… But the elemental runestones are more well-guarded. Tonight, Master Sebrian and his team of sorcerers will hit Plenfolia.”

“In a few weeks, Candor will hit the Mizar fortress. Perhaps if his  _ apprentice, _ ” Dr. Zoog paused, “Is ready in time, they could assist him.”

“I’m sure they won’t be,” Candor said, “Given that they’re useless at magic.”

“And who’s fault is that? If  _ you  _ failed to train them.”

Candor went silent.

“As I was saying, once we hit Mizar we’ll be able to take the other major kingdoms. We’ll send a stealth team to stake out Galacia— an icy fortress guarded by an elemental Princess. We’d be caught before we even found the runestone.”

“I wouldn’t,” Candor smirked.

Dr. Zoog rolled his eyes.

“Dr. Zoog?”

“What?”

“We’re done.”

Dr. Zoog smirked, and pulled the lever in front of him. At an almost alarmingly fast pace, their machines began drawing magic from the planet.

Coursing through their machinery and gathering in the core of the planet, almost carelessly.

“Very good. The speed is improved. In just a few months, we’ll be at the halfway point.”

  
  


Ely drew runes left and right, firing spells at Sybil in a practice duel. Sybil was blocking them just as fast, keeping up with them like an elaborate, flashy dance.

Sybil was about to block them and counter when suddenly she fell to the ground. Ely paused and ran over.

“Sybil? Are you okay?”

Sybil gasped in pain, “I… I don’t know. Somethings not right.”

“Not… right?”

Sybil nodded, “The magic… It doesn’t feel  _ right.” _

“Sybil—“

“I have to go,” Sybil said, crawling to her feet.

“Sybil, wait!”

“I’m sorry, Ely.”

Without a word, she ran off. Ely stood, speechless and confused.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	8. Plenfolia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mara searches for Madame Razz. Meanwhile, her friends are wrapped up in a sticky situation with a mock nettle.

Contrary to what she said, Razz didn’t return the next day. Or the day after that. 

She knows that should be good, but… She’s curious. Razz is a mystery she wants to crack. She wants to make sense of the nonsensical words she spouted.

And, most of all she wants to know how Razz knew her name. Razz acted like she was an old friend, and it shook her to her very core.

Something about this was important. Mara had no doubt about it.

(And Mara had a  _ lot  _ of doubts.)

  
  
  


“Sybil?” Ely asked, walking through the forest.

In the past couple weeks, training with Sybil had become something of a routine. They’d meet up with her in that same spot and she’d teach them magic. They always learned a new spell, and Sybil seemed excited to share it with them.

Some days she’d show up practically bouncing where she stood, telling them that she remembered a spell she just  _ had  _ to show them.

(It wasn’t a flashy spell, generally. The ones she was excited to show them were simple, like a spell that lights up a certain kind of mushroom in the woods. It always ended up being their new favourite.)

The last couple days, however, they hadn’t seen Sybil. It was worrying. After she ran off, they thought they’d see her the next day. But they didn’t.

“Sybil?” Ely moved the branches out of the way, and heard a deep grumble.

Sybil was laying against her dragon, Brightstar. She looked… sick. And Brightstar didn’t look much better, if they’re being honest.

“Sybil,” Ely sighed in relief, and kneeled next to her. She blinked at them.

“Ely,” She said, softly. She shifted in an attempt to sit, “I’m sorry, I know I missed training—“

“That’s okay— I was just worried about you,” Ely replied.

“Oh,” Sybil said, “Sorry. I’m feeling a little…  _ too  _ connected to the planet’s magic.”

“Too connected? Is that possible?”

“Well,” Sybil hesitated, “That teacher I told you about— he used to tell me that I had a unique connection to the planet. One that most sorcerers don’t. I don’t know if it’s true, but I just can’t help but feel something’s wrong.”

Ely’s expression morphed into something more horrified, “Sybil, I am so sorry. I think… I think my people and I might have caused this.”

“That’s okay. It’ll go away eventually. It’s been happening for months,” Sybil said, “I just have to adjust.”

Ely sat down beside Sybil, “Is it okay if I stay with you?”

“Of course,” Sybil replied, and she reached for their hand. Their fingers intertwined. Sybil lied against Brightstar, looking helpless.

  
  
  


“Razz?” Mara peaks around a bush, hoping to find the mysterious old woman. She can’t help it— it feels like she  _ knows  _ something and it won’t stop bugging her.

“Madame Razz?” She asks again to the empty space, the rustling of deer and other Etherian fauna being the only sign the forest was lived in.

Mara sighed. The forest was nearly impossible to navigate— not that Ely hadn’t tried, but even they couldn’t crack the patterns. (They said it was likely a defence mechanism by the forest.)

“Oh, there you are, dearie!” A voice rang out. Mara turned around swiftly, “Madame Razz was wondering when you would visit. About time, eh?”

“Hi, Razz—“ Mara started, but Razz had other ideas for the conversation.

“Come now, dearie, you’ve almost missed it,” Razz said, and gestured for Mara to follow her. Mara sighed, shaking her head, and followed her anyways.

  
  
  


Ely’s quiet moment with Sybil was interrupted by an alert on their communication pad. They looked at it, confused.

“Oh,” They said, “I was supposed to collect plant samples in the woods before winter. They must be wondering where I am.”

“Oh. But it doesn’t snow in the woods.”

“It doesn’t?”

Sybil simply shook her head.

“Are you alright if I answer this?” Ely asked, and Sybil nodded in return. They answered the video call, Serenia’s face coming into view.

“Serenia,” Ely greeted in a monotone voice. But Serenia looked more concerned.

“Ely— Chad tripped into this… spiky plant. Now he’s having some kind of reaction to it, but our medical team doesn’t have anything effective against it.”

“Can you describe the plant?”

“Well, it  _ looked  _ like an overgrown weed. The leaves were weirdly spiky,” Serenia said, “Other than that, I can’t say I was eager to get a closer look at it.”

“What are his symptoms?” Sybil asked quietly.

“Wh… What are Chad’s symptoms?”

“Chad?” Serenia asked. In the background, Chad was furiously scratching his arms.

“Itching, rashes, a faint stinging and these small raised bumps,” Chad said.

“Sounds... like mock nettle,” Sybil said, “It's not common in the forest, but every now and then we run into it. It’s not dangerous, but it lasts for a few days.”

“You can use some herbs to bring down the irritation. That’s what I usually do— except, my herbs are all for dragons. I don’t think tremew leaves would be good for your friend.”

“Is there a place we can find them?”

“Plumeria, probably,” Sybil said, “They have everything there.”

“Pl..Plumeria?”

“Ely, who are you talking to?” Serenia asked, “It’s not very helpful.”

Sybil pulled her map from the bag lying beside her, and pointed to a location on the map. Ely took it in, recognizing the location.

“Ah, we have different names,” Ely said, and then turned back to their communication pad, “I was talking to a friend, and she was very helpful, actually.”

“So what do we do?”

“We go to Plenfolia.”

Serenia groaned.

  
  
  


“Razz, slow down,” Mara said, attempting to follow the old woman through the forest. It was like a maze. She honestly wasn’t sure where Razz could possibly be leading her.

Razz suddenly stopped, allowing Mara to catch up. They were standing on the edge of a small cliff in the Whispering Woods. Mara had never been there before.

“Dearie, you’re just in time,” Razz grinned, and at Mara’s confusion she used her finger to direct Mara’s attention towards the sky.

Above them were the Salineas swans, who appeared to be migrating for the winter. They scattered the entire sky, flying in groups.

“The Salineas swans,” Mara gasped.

“There used to be so many more, dearie,” Razz said, gently, “You wouldn’t believe how they could cover the whole sky.”

“What happened?” She asked, breathless. To think the sky could be covered with these swans… 

“Ah, it’s always the same story, dearie,” Razz said, “Wicked people destroy what they cannot control. They can’t understand them. They don’t always understand that a part of Etheria lives within them.”

“They’re incredible, the swans,” Mara replied, “I know a Salineas swan. She comes and goes, but she always visits. Light Hope says she’s my “sacred steed”, or something.”

Razz was silent, watching the swans migrate. Mara was just so mesmerized by it— the breeze she could feel going through her hair, the hundreds of swans above her head. They all honked at each other, communicating.

Mara never paid much attention to the avifauna migration on Eternia. And here she was, watching it with a mysterious old woman.

“Out of curiosity,” Mara said, “Why did you want to show me this?”

Razz chuckled, “Does everything need a reason, dearie?”

“I suppose not,” Mara replied. She paused for a moment, and then asked the question that’s been on her mind for the last few days, “How… How did you know my name?”

“Eh?” Razz said, “I’m sorry, dearie, I can’t understand you, the wind is too loud.”

The wind was nowhere near too loud for Razz to hear her. She sighed, not entirely surprised she wasn’t getting a straight answer out of the old woman.

  
  


It didn’t take long for Ely to catch up with their friends, nor did it take long to arrive in Plenfolia. It wasn’t a long flight, thankfully, though to Chad it must’ve felt longer.

Plenfolia, or Plumeria as the Etherians called it, was one of the main elemental kingdoms. From what research had been gathered by their associates, the kingdom was known for their plants.

The runestone was even embedded in a tree, which fascinated Ely. But they had a mission.

It wasn’t long after they stepped off their ship that they were greeted by a group of people. In front was a very flowery woman.

She had long, flowing lime green hair. She wore flowing clothes, and a crown with flowers on the sides.

She wore a long pink dress with a ruffled, petal-like pattern at the middle. Over it she wore a sheer, long-sleeved shawl with decorated with embroidered leaf patterns.

“Visitors!” She exclaimed, excited, “You must be friends of Mara, right?”

“You know Mara?” Chad asked.

“Not personally,” She twirled around in excitement, “But Queen Mira told me all about the visitors from space. And I’ve heard all about the new She-Ra!”

“New?”

“Of course, she can’t be the same She-Ra from the stories, right? We’ve been telling them for generations.”

“Right,” Ely said, “Um—“

“Oh my, Is your friend okay?” The Princess asked, to which Chad just shrugged.

“He fell into a bush of mock nettle. A friend of mine told me you might have herbs to help?” Ely said, a little unsure.

“Oh, of course! Here in Plumeria, we have just about every kind of herb. I know just what you need.”

“Thanks, um…”

“Oh! I haven’t even introduced myself. Sorry, I’m Peruviana. I’m the Princess of Plumeria.”

“I’m Serenia, that’s Ely and that’s Chad,” Serenia said, pointing at her friends, “Now that we’re done with introductions, we’re not keen on Chad being poisoned by a plant for longer than necessary.”

“Oh, mock nettle isn’t dangerous,” Peruviana says, guiding them through her kingdom. She grabs some herbs and mixes them together in a bowl, into a fine paste.

“That’s what Sy— my friend told me,” Ely said.

“Stop being vague about your mysterious friend,” Serenia pouted, “When are you introducing us?”

“Um,” Ely paused, “I’d have to ask her. She’s not… feeling well, lately.”

Peruviana handed Chad the mixture, with a gentle smile, “Applying this should bring down your symptoms and help the skin feel faster. You’ll have to apply it daily until it’s healed.”

“Thank you,” Chad said, “It’s… really nice of you to do this for a complete stranger.”

“It’s kind of our thing,” Peruviana replied, “Thanks to the Heart Blossom, Plumeria almost always has more than enough to share. And if we don’t,”

She held out her hand, and grew a chrysanthemum in her hand. Chad watched with amazement, gasping.

“...I can always grow more,” Peruviana said, smiling. She handed the flower to Chad, “Here.”

“Thank you,” He said, taking the flower. Serenia sighed with relief.

“What was that about She-Ra, though? You have stories about Mara?” Chad asked, applying some of the mixture.

“We have stories about the She-Ra. I’m not sure if any of them are about Mara specifically. My favourite is the one where she tamed the beasts of beast island with a single word!”

“I like the one where she and her steed, the mighty dragon fought off an army and saved a town!”

“My favourite is the one where she heals the forest”

“...but Mara  _ is  _ She-Ra,” Serenia murmured, confused, “Mara hasn’t done that. These stories can’t be true.”

“But…” Peruviana paused and furrowed her eyebrows, “Of course they’re true. It’s part of our history.”

She moved a leaf on the Heart Blossom, revealing old, carved murals of She-Ra matching the stories. Serenia felt a chill run down her spine.

“Um…” Serenia said, “I think we better be going now. Stuff to do.”

“...yeah,” Ely quietly agreed, “It was nice meeting you, Princess Peruviana.”

“Same to you, friends,” She smiled.

  
  


“Well, we won’t get to collect any plant samples before winter, at this rate,” Serenia said.

“It doesn’t snow in the woods,” Ely replied.

“Wh… What? This was for nothing?” Serenia groaned, “Why didn’t you tell us that this morning?”

“I didn’t know this morning,” Ely shrugged, “But now, I’m curious as to  _ why  _ it doesn’t snow in the Whispering Woods. It’s fascinating.”

  
  
  
  


Ely, Serenia and Chad arrived back at the base, conveniently just as Mara was getting back. 

Mara raised an eyebrow, looking at Chad, “What’d I miss?”

“Chad tripped and landed in a plant,” Serenia said, “Which, incidentally, irritated his skin. We had to take him to Plenfolia.”

They don’t tell her about the stories, or the carvings in the tree.

“Ely, Mara!” A voice sounded out. On top of one of the ships a girl was sitting. She slid off of the ship, landing on the ground with practice.

“Sybil?” Mara asked, surprised to see the sorceress. Even more surprising was the fact Ely had said the name in sync with her.

“I didn’t know you two were friends,” Sybil said, “Um, it’s nice to see you again, Mara,”

“It’s nice to meet under better circumstances,” Mara replied, “Ely, you know Sybil?”

They nodded, “I met her in the woods.”

“So this is the mysterious friend,” Serenia said, using Ely as an armrest, “I thought she’d be taller, for some reason.”

“You’re feeling better?” Ely asked, looking concerned at Sybil. Merely hours ago, she didn’t look like she could move much. Because… because of what  _ Ely  _ was doing to the planet.

Suddenly, they felt their stomach drop. What exactly  _ were  _ they doing to Etheria?

Sybil nodded, “It usually doesn’t last  _ too  _ long. This was the longest yet.”

Mara, Serenia and Chad exchanged a look, having no idea what the two were talking about.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, plumeria doesn’t exist in the original she-ra, so I had a harder time finding a “First Ones” name for it, since I couldn’t find anything similar enough.  
> So I combined the words plenty + foliage and hopefully, that suffices. (folia is also in there ending of some plant names.)
> 
> Peruviana (Thevetia peruviana) is a plant in the Apocynaceae family, the same family that Plumeria is in. It’s a poisonous plant.
> 
> The ‘mock nettle’ isn’t a real plant, as far as I’m aware, nor is it supposed to be a real nettle.


	9. For The Heir of Grey Whales

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Friends of Mara return to Salineas for a very important mission— with the reclusive Master Sebrian to accompany them.
> 
> But Ely is given an unusual task on the mission that they don’t think they can crack.

“Mara!”

Mara turned her head to the sound, which turned out to be one of her best friends running at her at top speed. Serenia was smiling widely.

“Serenia,” Mara greeted, “What brings you here?”

“We got a mission to Salineas,” Serenia said, clapping her hands together, “You ready to see some old friends?”

Mara chuckled, “What counts as ‘old’? It hasn’t been years.”

“No, but it’s been forever,” Serenia replied, “I mean, we met them in what, summer?”

She had a point. It had been awhile since they had seen their Salineas allies. Not by choice, but a matter of time— everyday Mara trained with Light Hope and ran errands for her squadron.

It had been summer when they initially landed on Etheria, and though it didn’t snow in the woods she stood in, it was still winter. She wondered what Salineas was like this time of year.

“It  _ has  _ been awhile, it’ll be nice to see them again,” Mara said.

“One teensy catch, though,” Serenia replied, “Master Sebrian is coming with us to work on their runestone.”

“Master Sebrian?” Mara furrowed her eyebrows. She hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting Sebrian, yet. He was the ‘B’ sorcerer, and Candor the ‘A’.

He may have been in a similar rank to Candor, but Dr. Zoog usually left Candor in charge of all the magical missions, as though Master Sebrian was a sidekick.

Because of this, Mara hadn’t had any direct interactions with him. She thinks she remembers him being on the Glossfire project Ely told her about, but the specifics of which she isn’t entirely sure.

“Yeah, Candor’s busy,” Serenia said, “He’s got some big project in Galacia. Took a whole team. But the reason  _ we’re  _ going to Salineas is because we’ve already been and we’re diplomats.”

Serenia, in her excitement, hugged Mara. Serenia was always a very affectionate person, and Mara was grateful to have a friend like her. Serenia was… many things.

She presented herself to be very professional, very put-together and no-nonsense. But the minute she let herself be comfortable with someone, when she was outside of a mission…? 

She was more ‘herself’ outside of missions, she was versatile. She had this playful personality and a mischievous grin that told you she might surprise you with something.

When she got a new mission, Serenia was often very excited— sometimes she’d clap her hands together or hug the nearest friend. 

The one thing consistent between her work personality and her casual personality was her friendship. Mara might not be as analytical as Ely, but she likes to think she really connects with people.

What Serenia really cares about is people. Her friends, her sister and the people of Eternia. (Though, she did once say she had other reasons to join the Eternia Guards program.)

Mara and Serenia locked arms as they walked, and Mara felt full of affection for her friends. Sometimes, she thinks her favourite part about being on the project is the friendships.

She’s met so many new people, made so many dear friends that she couldn’t imagine not having. Light Hope, Serenia, Ely, Enchanta, Sibyline… She adored her friends.

  
  
  
  


Salineas didn’t look as unfamiliar as she expected it would after all this time. It wasn’t covered in snow, almost just lightly glazed. It was slippery, and the water was ice cold. The only major difference was they had Sebrian with them now.

Mira was there to greet them as soon as they stepped foot in Salineas. She had two guards at her side, but Mara suspected it was more of a protocol than protection.

“Lovely to see you again,” Mira said, “And… an old man.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Master Sebrian said, “Let’s cut to the chase.”

Mira raised an eyebrow, “And what chase is that?”

“The runestone,” He said, “We’re doing a little bit of… maintenance on it. I’m sure you’ve noticed, but so many kingdoms have been losing power to their runestone.”

“How peculiar,” She replied, dryly, “Provided my wife agrees, I’ll allow you access. Friends of Mara, come.”

Mira turned around swiftly, her guards standing behind her as she walked. They followed her, though she could hear Master Sebrian grumbling under his breath.

The throne room was just as she remembered it. Well, almost— she noticed the stained glass had some work done.

“One of your friends— Chad, I believe, came by to do a little touch-up on the stained glass a few weeks ago. We’ve been meaning to hire someone, anyway.”

“Why hadn’t you, out of curiosity?” Ely asked.

“Running a kingdom takes compromise. Priorities,” Mira shrugged, “And Drizzla.”

“D— who?”

“Mama!” A small child leapt out of Nami’s arms to run to Mira, practically climbing her.

The child had short, fluffy blue hair and dark brown eyes. In her hair, she had a bright orange starfish-shaped hair clip.

She wore a light blue cropped shirt paired with a flowy skirt, ruffled at the bottom to resemble a mermaid’s tail. The skirt was patterned to resemble the ocean, embroidered with care, and the shirt was patterned with scales.

“Friends of Mara, meet our daughter— Princess Drizzla of Salineas,” Mira said, “If I recall correctly, she was with her aunt the last time you visited. Consider this a formal introduction.”

The child was grinning. Nami smiled, shaking her head fondly despite the child practically launching herself out of her arms.

“We’re professionals, not babysitters,” Master Sebrian said, “We don’t need to meet your children.”

“Child, singular,” Mira narrowed her eyes at him, “And actually, if you wish to continue with the ‘maintenance’, then we  _ do  _ need a babysitter.”

Master Sebrian huffed, “Then give it to Ely. They’ll deal with it.”

“What?” Ely asked, suddenly alarmed, “I’m not really g—“

“Important to this mission?” Master Sebrian said, “You are correct. I need Mara and Serenia with me. You, on the other hand…”

Ely frowned, and wrung their hands together nervously. Mara suddenly felt very annoyed with Sebrian, or a tad infuriated. She could tell Serenia did, too.

Mira gently handed Ely her daughter, “Here. Don’t worry, she might seem a bit rowdy at first, but she’ll settle down.”

Drizzla slid herself out of Ely’s arms, landing on the ground.

“Drizzla, why don’t you show Ely your room?”

Drizzla grabbed Ely’s hand and led them away. As soon as her daughter was out of earshot, Mira dropped the friendly attitude.

“Mara, Serenia, I trust both of you. I think you’re valuable allies. This man, however…” Mira trailed off.

“Is impolite,” Nami said, “Tell us what you  _ really  _ want to do.”

“I told you— maintenance. The runestones are having difficulties lately, and it is imperative that we fix them. Preferably  _ before  _ the problems start.”

Mira raised an eyebrow, and glanced at Mara. Mara nodded— as she was supposed to.

Mira sighed, “Make it quick. I have a meeting I can’t be running late to.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing you aren’t needed here,” Master Sebrian replied, stepping up to the Pearl.

“My runestone. I wouldn’t let you near it unsupervised,” Mira said, “It’s protocol.”

“Right,” He gritted his teeth.

  
  
  
  


Ely’s nerves were taking over as Drizzla guided them through the castle. They… weren’t generally good with kids. They just couldn’t connect with them! Even as a kid, they were a bit… peculiar.

Serenia was the one who knew how to interact with kids. She had a little sister probably not too much older than Drizzla. Oh, why would Sebrian choose  _ them  _ for this?

“So, little Dewdrop…” Ely trailed off. Maybe starting off with a nickname was too awkward? Aw, they wanted to be the fun babysitter. Now the kid is gonna hate them.

Drizzla just grinned and opened the door to her room, presenting it proudly.

Drizzla’s room was decorated in a similar manner to the rest of the castle. Her bed was shaped like a clam, which Ely thought was a nice touch.

There was decorative coral sprinkled around the room, pillows strewn around the room and the bed unmade. On the bed, however, was notably a variety of plush toys.

Mainly, a large whale with a horn. It didn’t look like any whale Ely had ever seen, which they found fascinating. The others were of similar aquatic life.

The styles of plush didn’t clash, leading Ely to believe they were likely all made by the same person. The whale looked more well-worn, though. A favourite, they’d guess.

_ Even when I’m not “working” I can’t stop taking notes,  _ They thought idly,  _ Even about… this. _

Drizzla grabbed the whale immediately, “This is Baleena! She’s a grey whale. Do you know anything about grey whales?”

“Not the Etherian kind,” Ely replied. Unfortunately, it was a common name for whales. They could only assume the Etherian kind were different, especially if they were actually horned like that.

Her eyes lit up and she clapped, “I can tell you! I know all about all of the whales! I have a book.”

“You like whales?” Ely asked.

“I love whales,” Drizzla corrected, “Whales are the reason I  _ exist.  _ One day, I’m gonna own a whale and we’re gonna be best friends.”

Ely relaxed a little, “I like whales, too. I collect data about aquatic animals whenever I can.”

“Then, did you know that grey whales, they have to stay warm, you see? And the water is cold, so they have this  _ thick  _ skin with blubber that acts as a blanket.”

“I did not know that,” Ely said, “Do grey whales have horns on Etheria?”

“Yea! It’s called the… the… Um. Spiralled alicorn! It helps them navigate at night, cause it’s really sensitive, and they don’t see really good in the dark. And, and! It’s an important part of how they socialize.”

“That’s really cool,” Ely said.

“I know. It’s my favourite whale fact,” Drizzla replied, “Mama said you’re not from Etheria. Do you have whales on your planet?”

“Yep. But I think yours are cooler,” They said.

“Tell me about them. I want to learn about all whales,” Drizzla said.

“Of course, Dewdrop. Eternia has  _ lots  _ of whales…”

  
  
  
  


Master Sebrian was silent while he worked, and as much as he tried to disguise it as ‘maintenance’, Mira didn’t seem convinced. She seemed on edge, almost.

He drew First Ones runes into the stone under the guise of fixing a problem that wasn’t there, and Mara wasn’t allowed to say anything.

It felt… wrong, lying to her friend. But they weren’t doing anything wrong. (...right?)

The energy source they were building had so much potential. If channeled properly, it could be beneficial for everyone. From force fields to shield them from threats, to solving hunger by using it to grow plants.

...sometimes, it certainly felt more for Eternia’s benefit. But Eternia and Etheria were sister planets, interconnected.

And if Eternia fell, Horde Prime would be able to take out the whole universe without anything standing in his way. They were crucial, she justified it to herself.

It felt uncomfortably long to stand in the silence drenched in lies, Mira tapping her foot impatiently. Why did this feel wrong?

She wondered how Ely was doing. She thinks she’d prefer babysitting instead of this.

  
  
  


“...and once the Zalesia whales migrate between the Harmony ocean to the Eternity ocean, they grow to their full size, three times bigger than they started thanks to the larger food quantity. Near our capital city, the aquatic plants grow so tall you can see them poking out of the water.”

“Aren’t whales carnivores?”

“They are, but what they eat isn’t always. The underwater forests are an ideal place for a number of small, herbivore fish as it provides a food source and a hiding place. Usually hunted by other whales.”

“Whoa. I love Zalesia whales,” Drizzla said, “What other whales do you have?”

“Well, best for last… The Eternos whale. Some say it can live up to 1500 years, though we’re still unsure if that’s true.”

“Wow,” Drizzla said, amazed.

“And, it has the largest dorsal fin of all Eternia whales.”

“Is it friends with the other one?”

“It is, actually— the two species have a mutualistic relationship. The Eternos whale is on the smaller side of whales, making it ideal prey— so the Zalesia whales provide protection and, in turn, get to eat whatever targets the Eternos whales. The Eternos whales eat the small fish in the aquatic forest, and the Zalesia whales eat their predators.”

“Friendship,” Drizzla cheered, “My aunt is boring, but you’re fun. You should be my new aunt.”

Ely was touched, and speechless— and thankfully, Drizzla saved them from having to reply to that.

“I’m gonna show you how to draw a whale,” She decided, already off to get her paper and crayons.

Ely smiled.

  
  
  


Master Sebrian took his time with the runestone, under the watchful eyes of Nami. Nami usually appeared to look so sweet, but the fierceness in her eyes told a different story. She remained fixated on him, almost unblinkingly.

Mara could tell— and was a little amused— that it was making him uncomfortable. 

Just as Sebrian was done with them runestone, finally finished, Ely and Drizzla returned to the throne room.

  
  


“Thanks for watching her,” Mira said, as Drizzla ran up to her mom, “Hope she wasn’t any trouble.”

“She wasn’t,” Ely replied.

“Mama, can I get a whale?” Drizzla asked, “I want a grey whale.”

“Maybe when you’re older,” Mira said. Drizzla glanced at Ely, as if they could get her a whale. Ely’s eye caught the stained glass, an idea already sparking.

“We must get going now,” Master Sebrian interrupted, “We have a lot of work to do.”

“You don’t want to hang out anymore?” Nami asked.

Sebrian rolled his eyes, “No.”

“Visit soon!” Drizzla said, waving them goodbye.

  
  
  


“The woods sure are cold this time of year,” Serenia said, stretching. They only recently arrived back in the woods, and Serenia was starting to think she should have grabbed her jacket, “Even if it doesn’t snow.”

“I know just the place,” Mara replied, and she led them into the Crystal Castle. Serenia shot her a skeptical look. Mara grabbed a blanket that was folded neatly by the door.

Light Hope materialized, “Greetings, Friends of Mara.”

“Hey, Hope,” Mara smiled, “Come sit with us?”

Mara curled up in a remote corner of the room. There were a couple books stacked there. Serenia and Ely sat next to her, though leaving room for Light Hope.

Light Hope sat down with them, and immediately Serenia realized what Mara meant. Light Hope was radiating heat like a space heater.

“Wow, she’s warm,” Serenia commented, “You do this a lot?”

Mara shrugged, “It’s nice to hang out with her.”  _ To just be around her. Idly. Quietly. _

“Well, nice that you have someone to join your book club,” Serenia joked.

“Mara reads many books,” Light Hope added, “But she is not in a book club.”

Serenia chuckled.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Master Sebrian is a character from The New Adventures of He-Man, which is where Mara is from. He’s the “wisest man on Primus” and apparently knows a great deal about magic.


End file.
